Peering into the Future: The Sorcerer's Stone
by kazoquel4
Summary: The Weasleys, Harry, Remus, Sirius, and Dumbledore are transported out of the blue to a room where time stands still. A note tells them they are to read a series of seven books that will depict Harry's seven years at Hogwarts. New people will join them and new relationships will emerge as they read through the first book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Rated T for mild lang
1. Prologue

"BOYS!"  
Fred and George stuck their heads back into the kitchen with a grimace.  
"Yes, Mum?"  
"What did I tell you about using magic? Just because you're of age does NOT mean that you have to whip out your wands for every little thing!"  
"Sorry, Mum."  
"Ah, come on, Molly. Can't they have a little fun?" Sirius asked, his feet propped up on the kitchen table.

"Not if it blows the house up!" Molly said indignantly. "And get your feet off the table, Sirius! I just cleaned that!"

"You mean we just cleaned that," Ginny muttered.

Molly turned to her to say something when the room was suddenly overcome with darkness. Everyone gasped, confused, and Ginny let out a small shriek.  
"FRED! GEORGE!"

"It wasn't us, Mum!"

Suddenly, their surroundings brightened again, and they stumbled slightly. They were definitely not in Grimmauld Place. They were in a large study complete with many sofas and a large, lavish desk. But what surprised the group more were the inhabitants of the study.

"Professor Dumbledore!"  
"Harry?"

"Professor Lupin!"

"Ah, you've arrived," said Dumbledore from his place behind the desk. Lupin was standing next to him, looking troubled, and Harry was sitting on the sofa, looking downright confused.

"What's going on?" asked Sirius. "Why are we here?"

"I wish I knew," said Harry.  
"I think it best that we wait for everyone to get here before I explain," Dumbledore said.

"Who else-"  
Suddenly, Hermione, Mr. Weasley, Percy, Bill, and Charlie appeared out of nowhere. Percy fixed his glasses as if in a daze.  
"What…" his gaze crossed the room to what he considered to be his 'former' family, and he frowned.

His reaction was mirrored by most of the Weasleys.  
"What's _he _doing here?" asked Fred and George together as Ginny and Ron glared at him. Mrs. Weasley looked about ready to burst into tears at their reaction.

"It looks like we're all accounted for," Dumbledore said quickly. "If everyone will please take a seat, I will explain."  
Everyone sat down on the sofas, Percy sitting by himself, his head held high. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why you are here," he said.  
"Yes, we are," Sirius said.

Percy's eyes widened. "But… You… You're Sirius Black!" he spluttered.

"Yes, I am. Continue, Professor," he said, ignoring Percy's shocked expression.

"The fact is I'm not completely sure myself. I, as you were, have been transported here with not so much as a warning. I have no clue as to where we are, but I did find this letter," he said, holding up a sheet of paper. He unfolded it and read out loud.

_My dear friends,_

_I am sure you are all very confused as to why you have been transported here. There is an explanation. I want you to read some books._

Fred, George and Sirius snorted.

_These books are no ordinary books. They are about you. Well, technically they are about Harry, but you are all a very important part of his life, and I expect you will be in them quite a bit._

_There are seven books total, starting from Harry's first year at Hogwarts and ending with his last. Yes, some of these books will tell of future events. _

_I would like you to read them because I'm hoping they might help change the future. Don't misinterpret me; the future turns out very well for most, but you all suffered crippling losses and I would like to hopefully ease some of your pain._

_This room is an exceedingly exceptional room. While you're in it, all time stands still, and you cannot leave until all seven books are finished. As it is, there is an enchantment on the books that doesn't let you read them out of order._

_This is not all of the people that will be here; others will appear when needed. _

_Please enjoy the books. I hope that they will help you all.  
Best wishes,_

_A.S.P._

"Who's A.S. P.?" Hermione asked.

"I have no idea Ms. Granger. Also enclosed was a list of who would come," Dumbledore said.

"Are those the books?" Sirius asked, looking at a pile of books on the desk.  
"Yes."  
"Aw!" groaned Fred.  
"They're long," complained George.  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Boys."  
"You say that like it's a bad thing."  
"I believe we should start reading," Dumbledore said. "Would anyone care to read the first chapter?"  
"I will, Professor." To no one's surprise, Hermione accepted the book.

"It's titled, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." She opened the book. "Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived."


	2. The Boy Who Lived

Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own Harry Potter, and I am not making any money off of this fanfiction. All credit goes to JK Rowling for her amazing stories; this is simply a fanFICTION, and none of the characters are mine.

**Chapter 2: The Boy Who Lived**

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were normal, thank you very much.**

Harry snorted. "Got that right."

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.**

"What are drills?" asked Ron, puzzled.

"Muggle tools," Hermione said. "They use them to drill holes into wood."

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

"Harry, your relatives-"  
"Sound lovely," George finished, snickering with Fred.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't the think they would bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.**

"There's nothing wrong with the Potters!" Hermione interrupted herself in a shrill voice.

"You wanna tell her she's talking to a book?" Ron muttered to Harry.

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**

"That's horrible!" exclaimed Molly.

"What do they mean, good-for-nothing?" growled Sirius.

Fred and George snickered. "Since when is unDursleyish a word?"

**The Dursley's shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"I would think it's the other way around!" Ron said, glaring at the book.

"Talking. To. A. Book," Harry snorted.

"Shut it."

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**

"He likes wearing boring ties?" asked Fred incredulously.

"If we had to wear ties, they would be awesome ones," said George.

"Oh! They could flash different colors-"  
"And shoot off sparks!"  
"And eat-"  
"Keep reading, Hermione," Ginny said exasperatedly.

**And Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

"OWLS!" Fred and George cheered.

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"What a horrid child!" said Mrs. Weasley.

**"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. **

"And the parents support their child's behavior!" Mrs. Weasley said in amazement.

**He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar- a cat reading a map.**

"Five galleons it's McGonagall," George muttered to Fred.  
"You're on."

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen, then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of?  
**"He can think?" asked Ginny in mock-amazement.

**It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet drive- no, ****_looking _****at the sign; cats couldn't read maps ****_or_**** signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove through town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.  
**"That sounds bloody boring," Fred muttered.  
"Fred! Language!" chastised Mrs. Weasley.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.**

"Careless," muttered Mrs. Weasley.

"They did have good reason to," said Dumbledore softly.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes- the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that mand had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak!  
**"What's so weird about that?" asked Ron, confused.

"Muggles don't wear cloaks, Ron," said Hermione matter-of-factly.

**The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly little stunt- these people were obviously collecting for something…**

"Obviously," said Fred.

**yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drill that morning. ****_He _****didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people on the street did; they pointed and gazed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. **

"Weird," muttered George.

**Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"Do you think he likes to shout?" muttered Sirius. Harry snorted.

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs**

Fred screamed and slumped in his seat in mock-faint.  
"He can move?" said George in surprise. Hermione rolled her eyes.  
"Can I read?" she asked, irritated.

**and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

"Whew!" said George.  
"It's okay, folks; Apocalypse over!" said Fred.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large donut in a bag, that he caught a few words they were saying.**

"Great," moaned Mrs. Weasley.

**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard-"  
"-yes, their son, Harry-"**

"And so it begins," said Ron. Harry glared at him

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead.**

"YAY!" cheered Fred and George.

**Fear flooded him.**

"Aww," they chorused, sitting back in their seats.

**He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid.**

"Yes, yes you are," said Ginny.

**Potter wasn't such an unusual name.**

"It is in the wizard world," said Lupin.

**He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew ****_was_**** called Harry.**

"He didn't even know your name?" asked Mrs. Weasley, mortified.

"Come to think of it, he probably still doesn't," said Harry thoughtfully, not catching the dark looks everyone exchanged.

**He'd, never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold.**

Everyone snorted.  
"Harold Potter," snickered George.

"I'm so glad you were called Harry," said Ginny.

**There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her- if ****_he'd _****had a sister like that…**

"Like your sister is _so_ much better," scoffed Harry.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks…**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

Ron winced. "Poor bloke."

**"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell to the ground.**

Harry looked shocked. "He said sorry!"  
**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passerby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing can upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating this happy, happy day!" **

Fred snorted. "It was probably Flitwick."

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

"He fit?" asked Sirius.

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"Doesn't approve of-"

"Imagination?" finished George. The twins looked at each other in shock.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw- and that didn't improve his mood- was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

"It's McGonagall," sang George. Dumbledore gave a knowing smile.

**"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. **

"It's Minnie," said Sirius firmly.  
"Minnie?" asked Ginny, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

"Nickname," he said with a grin.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

"Scared of the wife, are you?" said Lupin.

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!") **

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: **

**"And, finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin.**

"Probably a squib," said Lupin.

**"Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"  
"Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early- it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight.**

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

"Great! Muggles are putting it together!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley.

"Well, he did already know about wizards," said Dumbledore.

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er- Petunia, dear- you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"  
As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

Sirius and Lupin narrowed her eyes.

**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"  
"Funny stuff on the new," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"**

**"****_So?_****" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

**"Well, I just thought… maybe… it had something to do with… you know…** **_her _****crowd."**

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son- he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"  
"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"What's his name again? Howard, is it?"**

Fred and George snorted.

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"I think Harry's a lovely name," said Mrs. Weasley. Harry smiled at her.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley."

**"Oh yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as he went up to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was peering down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things?  
**"I thought he didn't approve of imagination," said Ron.

**Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were rlated to a pair of- well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

"I'm sure they felt the same way," muttered Ginny.

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters ****_were_**** involved, there was no reason for the to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on- he yawned and turned over- it couldn't affect ****_them_****…**

**How very wrong he was.**

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting off into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all. **

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground.**

Everyone glanced at Dumbledore, who just smiled.

**The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"Yeah!" cheered the twins, much to the Dumbledore's amusement.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived on a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. **

"Oh, I knew," chuckled Dumbledore.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street light went out with a little pop.**

The room's occupants blinked.

**He clicked it again- the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put- Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which where the eyes of the cat watching him.**

"Whoa!" said Ron. "I want one!"

**If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.  
"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

"Ha!" said George. He held his hand out to Fred. "Pay up."  
Fred dropped the coins into his hand with a scowl.

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead, he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.  
**"I see she hasn't changed," chuckled Sirius.

**"How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

**"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed at least a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."  
Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

**"Oh yes, everyone's been celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful about it, but no- even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her had back at the Dursley's dark living room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent. I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."  
"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."  
**The adults nodded their heads sadly.

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. But that's now reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."  
**Mrs. Weasley sniffed pointedly.

**She threw a sharp sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really ****_has_**** gone, Dumbledore?"**

"I wish," said Harry darkly. Ron and Hermione nodded. Mrs. Weasley realized that she would get to find out exactly what had happened this year. No one had given her any details, just vague thoughts about Ron and a chess set…

**"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"A _what?_**"**

**"A ****_what_****?"  
**Ginny blushed.

**"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."  
"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops.**

Dumbledore looked vaguely surprised.

**"As I say, even if You-Know-Who ****_has _****gone-"**

**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense- for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name- ****_Voldemort._****" **

Everyone in the room flinched besides Dumbledore, Harry, Lupin and Sirius. "Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself," said Harry. Dumbledore nodded with a smile.

**Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's**

Flinch.

**name."**

**"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, ****_Voldemort_****, was frightened of."  
"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."  
"Only because you're too- well- ****_noble_**** to use them."**

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed this much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."  
**Fred and George gagged behind their mothers' back while everyone stared at Dumbledore, who smiled back cheerily.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing compared next to the ****_rumors_**** that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

"Harry!" said Ginny cheerfully.

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

**"What they're ****_saying_****," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are- are- that they're- ****_dead._****"**

The room's mood turned solemn at this.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.  
"Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"  
**Mrs. Weasley sniffled. Harry looked at his lap, his face expressionless. Ginny, who happened to be sitting next to Harry, took his hand and squeezed. He squeezed back softly.

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But- he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke- and that's why he's gone."**

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**"It's- it's ****_true_****?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"  
"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

"Unfortunately," said Harry flatly.

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles.**

Everyone smiled a bit, thinking of their Professor.

**Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers.**

"Numbers?" scoffed Ron. "Why would it have numbers?"  
"That's what Muggle watches have on them, Ron," said Hermione wearily.

"Really?" asked Mr. Weasley excitedly. Hermione kept reading.

**Instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me ****_why_**** you're here, of all places.  
"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."  
**Harry scowled. "Wish they weren't," he muttered. The people who heard him exchanged glances. Harry didn't talk much about his home life. From what they'd heard from this book so far, the Dursleys weren't exactly the nicest people, but they couldn't be_ that_ bad.

**"You don't mean- you ****_can't_**** mean the people who live ****_here_****!" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. Dumbledore- you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son- I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly.**

Harry sighed.

**"His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."  
**"A _letter_?" asked Mrs. Weasley, glaring at the headmaster.

**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous- a legend- I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future-  
**"It's not," said Fred.  
"But wouldn't that be awesome?" said George, his eyes glinting.

"No," said Harry flatly.

**there will be books written about Harry- every child in the world will know his name!"  
**"Of course," Harry sighed.

**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn and boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for doing something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"  
**"I guess I can see why you did it," said Harry, while Dumbledore looked at him sadly.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes- yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"You'd better not," growled Mrs. Weasley.  
**"Hagrid's bringing him."  
"You think it- ****_wise_****- to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Harry firmly. Hermione gave him a strange look before reading.

**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

Harry blinked.

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to- what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky- and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

"Yeah!" said Sirius, punching the air. Percy looked at him in alarm.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so ****_wild_****- long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

Most of the room grinned, thinking fondly of their friend.

**"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young  
Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him here, sir."**

"Mentioned!" said Sirius.

"Ah, shut it, Padfoot," said Lupin.

**"No problems, were there?"  
"No, sir- house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."  
**"Aww," cooed the females in the room.

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep.**

"Aww."  
**Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.  
"Is that where-" whispered Professor McGonagall.  
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

**"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"  
**Harry looked at Dumbledore hopefully.

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself about my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. Well- give him here, Hagrid- we'd better get this over with."**

Everyone looked at Dumbledore strangely.

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursley's house.  
"Could I- could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dong.**

"Aww!"

Harry looked slightly alarmed as the women cooed. Ron snickered.

**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"  
"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, pulling out a large spotted, handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it- Lily an' James dead- an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles-"  
"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door.**

"Ah, comforting as always, Minnie" said Sirius.

**He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.**

"You- left- him- on- a- _doorstep_?" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley, rounding on the poor headmaster. "What were you _thinking_! He could have crawled away, he could have been kidnapped, he could have caught a _cold-_"

"Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine," said Harry. "Really, it's ok."

Mrs. Weasley glared at the headmaster for another minute before sitting back with a huff. Hermione hurriedly kept reading.

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

As they had now.

**"Well," said Dumbledore finally. "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

**"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice. "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back.**

Sirius winced. Why had he gone after that damn rat?

**G'night, Professor McGonagall- Professor Dumbledore, sir."  
Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.  
"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.  
Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive suddenly glowed orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

"And a baby with a cold crawling out of it straight into the arms of a kidnapper," muttered Mrs. Weasley.

**"Good luck, Harry," he murmured.**

"I'm going to need it," Harry said darkly. Sirius and Lupin exchanged glances.

**He turned on his heel, and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets with waking up. One small hand closed on the letter and he slept on,**

"Awww!"

Harry dropped his head into his hands.

**Not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley… He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter- the boy who lived!"  
**"That's the end," said Hermione. "Who would like to read next?"  
"I will," said Lupin, reaching over to take the book. "The Vanishing-"  
He was interrupted by a two people appearing in front of him.

**A/N: There! Done! SO sorry it took me so long, school started, and my grandma was in the hospital, and I was just extremely busy. Anyway, I should be posting faster now, hopefully the next chapter will be up in the next week. I would like to thank Jannafrancine for my first review! Please leave a review. Tell me if you liked it, who you think the new people will be, and any suggestions you have. I would love to hear from you! It really encourages me to write faster, so the more you review, the quicker I update. Thanks so much for reading.**

**~Kayla**


	3. The Vanishing Glass

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Happy? Oh, and just a note: This is in the beginning of the summer after fourth year for our time period.

**Chapter 3: The Vanishing Glass**

"Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked, staring at his newly arrived transfiguration teacher. She looked around and turned toward Dumbledore, who started explaining things quickly.

"Tonks!" said Ginny brightly to the remaining woman. She was very tall with bubblegum pink hair and bright gold eyes. She turned and grinned at Ginny.  
"Heya Gin!" Her gaze fell on Harry, and her grin widened.  
"Harry Potter? Wotcher, Harry," she said with a wink.

"Um…" He didn't want to be impolite and ask who she was, as she obviously knew him. Thankfully, Ginny stepped in.

"Harry, this is Nympha-"  
"Ginny!"  
"-dora Tonks, but she likes to be called Tonks. She's a member of the Order."  
"The What?"  
"The Order of the Phoenix!" Tonks said brightly.

"It's a group of people opposing Voldemort," explained Ginny. **(A/N: I don't know if that's the official meaning, I don't have the fifth book in front of me.) **"Dumbledore founded it when Voldemort was strong the first time."

She quickly explained everything to Tonks, who flopped onto the couch next to her.  
"Okay everyone," said Lupin. "Now that we're all caught up, we can start reading." He opened the book to the next chapter.

**Chapter Two: The Vanishing Glass**

"Oh, Harry, what did you do?" asked Hermione.

Harry reddened. "You'll see."

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. **

"Boring," chorused the twins.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different colored bonnets-**

Ron snickered. "Lovely description."

**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

"Did you leave?" asked Mrs. Weasley, confused.  
"No, I'm still there," said Harry wearily. He realized that this story would reveal his home life with the Dursleys, which is something he tried not to bring up. He hadn't, for instance, told them about the whole cupboard thing…

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

"Lovely."

**"Up! Get up! Now!"**

Everyone looked at him. "That's how they wake you up?" asked Hermione.  
"Just read," said Harry.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again.**

**"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"You remembered that?" asked Dumbledore, surprised. Harry nodded.

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

"They made you cook?" asked Mrs. Weasley, outraged. "You were only eleven!"  
"Well, I had plenty of practice," Harry said reasonably.

"How _much?_"  
"Well, I started when I was about five or six. They gave me a stool."  
Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth, but Lupin started reading again.

**Harry groaned.**

**"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

**"Nothing, nothing…"  
Dudley's birthday- how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.**

Ron shivered.  
"And_ why _was there a spider on them?" asked Mrs. Weasley suspiciously.

"They were under my bed?" Harry said hopefully.

**Harry was used to spiders,**

A shiver from Ron.

**because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them,**

"What does that have to do with it?" asked Ginny, confused. Sirius stared at Harry in horror.  
Harry dropped his head to his hands so he wouldn't have to face the room's reaction.

**and that was where he slept.**

Silence. No one said anything. Harry raised his head up to find everyone staring at him. Then, the silence burst.

"You _what?!" _asked Ginny.

"We thought you had a room!" said the twins in horror. They remembered jumping him from his bedroom in Privet Drive.

Lupin and Sirius turned to each other, eyes wide. Both were thinking the same thing: _Why didn't I get him out of there?_

Professor McGonagall was too shocked for words. One of her lions, sleeping in a… cupboard?

"Harry…" said Hermione quietly. He looked over to her and Ron.

"Why didn't you tell us, mate?" asked Ron in a subdued voice.

"Because it's not a big deal," said Harry. "Honestly, it doesn't matter.

Molly had stayed silent through all of this. Her face was steadily turning redder and redder. "Doesn't. _Matter?_" she asked in a hoarse whisper. Everyone fell silent as her eyes got a steely glint in them. "They made you sleep in a BLOODY CUPBOARD? I'M GOING TO MURDER THEM! HOW _DARE _THEY! AND YOU!" she rounded on Dumbledore, who shrank back. "YOU, LEAVING HIM THERE! HOW COULD YOU?"  
"Molly, it was the best place for him," Dumbledore said, but even he was surprised and outraged. He knew Harry's life with the Dursley's wasn't pleasant, but this…

"I'M GOING TO-"  
"Mrs. Weasley!" Harry crossed over to her and put a hand on her arm. "I'm fine, okay? I don't sleep there anymore. It's over."

Slowly, she calmed down. Her face returned to its usual hue and she grabbed Harry and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. Harry shot a look at Lupin, who started to read again in a shaky voice.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise- unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"Don't tell me that was you," said Hermione, looking at Harry. He had returned to his seat and was now in-between Ron and Hermione.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry,**

Everyone's faces darkened.

**But he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

"Go Harry!" the twins cheered.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

Sirius and Lupin chuckled. "No, that's your father's genes."

**He looked even smaller and skinner than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was.**

"Can't even buy him proper clothes," Molly huffed. Her husband scooted ever so subtly away from her.

**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.**

"James," Sirius and Lupin said together.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.**

Ginny growled.

**The only thing Harry liked about his appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"You _liked _it?" Ron asked incredulously.

"That was before I knew what it meant," Harry pointed out.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**"In the car crash when your parents died," she had said.**

Everyone looked outraged.  
"They did not die in a car crash, you bi-"  
"Sirius! Language!" reprimanded Molly, looking furious yourself.

**"And don't ask questions."**

**_Don't ask questions-_**** that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

"No wonder," McGonagall muttered, appalled.

"No wonder what, Professor?" Harry asked.

"You never ask questions in class," McGonagall explained. "Even if you clearly don't understand something."  
"Oh," said Harry, turning red. He didn't think anyone had noticed. "Sorry."  
"Why are you apologizing?" she said, her eyes narrowing.

Harry turned back to the book. "On with the story!" he said, not seeing the look McGonagall exchanged with Molly.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.  
"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of morning greeting.**

"Not gonna work!" sang Sirius.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in the class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way- all over the place.**

"The Potter curse," chuckled Lupin.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, Watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.**

Hermione, Ginny and Tonks shuddered.

**Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel- Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in wig.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

"Harry-" Fred said.

"When did you-"  
"Get this funny?"

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

Everyone was shocked. "Thirty-six?" Bill repeated blankly.

**"Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from mommy and Daddy."  
**"Auntie-" Ron turned to Harry. "Is that the one you-"  
"The very one!" said Harry, and they burst out laughing. Everyone looked at them in confusion.  
"Third year," Harry said, waving his hand.

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.  
**"That…" Charlie spluttered.

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another ****_two_**** presents while we're out today. ****_Two _****more presents. Is that all right?"  
**Mrs. Weasley looked outraged.

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…"**

"Merlin's beard- He's an idiot!" exclaimed Tonks. Lupin grinned at her, and her hair turned red at the tips.

"How old is he again?" asked Charlie.  
"He was turning eleven," Harry said.

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."  
Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

**"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!"  
**Mrs. Weasley tutted.

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera,**

"What's-"  
"I'll tell you later, Ron," said Hermione exasperatedly.

**a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a golden wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.  
"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg.**

"The squib?" asked Sirius.

"Mrs. Figg's a squib?" asked Harry, surprised.

"Yeah, she works for the order."  
**She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

"_Him_ has a name," hissed Hermione.

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old cat lady who lived two streets away.  
**"They just left you?" asked Tonks, horrified.  
Harry looked genuinely confused. "Why would they want me to have any fun?"  
Everyone looked at each other, horrified.

**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he had planned this.**

"Oh, of _course _he did," said Ginny scathingly.

**Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

"At least you tried," huffed Molly, still angry at the Dursleys.

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.  
"Don't be silly Vernon, she hates the boy."  
**"Feeling's mutual," Harry muttered to Ron, who snorted.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there- or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

"That's so sad," Ginny said softly. Percy was appalled. Sure, Harry was a liar, but no one should be treated like this!

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend- Yvonne?"**

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.  
"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"Fun," said Fred sarcastically.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.  
**"She always does," Harry pointed out.

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.  
"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"Of course not!"  
**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly. "And leave him in the car…"  
**"He's not a dog!" snarled Hermione. Sirius looked offended.

**"The car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…"  
**"Of course, worry about the car, not the boy!"

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying- it had been years since he'd actually cried- but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"Pleasant."  
**"Dinky Duddydums,  
**Everyone exploded with laughter.  
"Dinky-"  
"Duddydums!" wheezed Fred.

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.  
**"She fit?" asked Tonks.

**"I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

"Brat," muttered Sirius.

**Just then, the doorbell rang- "Oh good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically- and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Oh yes, can't have your _friend _see you cry!" snapped Lupin.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life.**

Everyone looked down sadly, except for Harry.  
"For the most part, it was great!" he said cheerily.

**His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

"Don't touch him, you fat walrus," Fred hissed.

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you know, boy- any funny business and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."  
**"He didn't!"  
"Mrs. Weasley, I was at Hogwarts for Christmas."

**"I'm not going to do anything," said Harry. "Honestly."**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did.  
**Professor McGonagall looked down.

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen.**

"Accidental magic!" Everyone cheered.

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he as almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses.**

"Poor dear," said Molly, feeling rather sad hearing just how bad Harry's life had been.

**Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

"Yay!"

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he ****_couldn't_** **explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

"Awww."

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls),**

"Ew!" said Ginny, disgusted.

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to have become, until it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

"Thank goodness," said Mrs. Weasley.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens.**

"Huh?"

**Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else, there he was sitting on the chimney. **

"You apparated!" said Ron.  
"No," said Harry thoughtfully. "I think I flew."  
"You flew?" asked McGonagall, raising an eyebrow. "That's extremely powerful accidental magic."  
Harry shrugged. "I'll bet loads of people do it."

Ginny muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Noble prat, can't even accept he's special…"

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling the Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard)**

Everyone growled.

**was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

"Not even you are that scrawny," chuckled George.  
"I was eight," snapped Harry.

**But today, nothing could go wrong.**

Everyone groaned.  
"What?" asked Tonks.  
"He jinxed it! Now something will go wrong!" exclaimed Hermione.  
"Oh come on, I'm not that unlucky," said Harry crossly.

"Harry, mate," said Fred seriously.

"You have-"  
"The worst luck-"  
"We've ever seen."

**It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage smelling living room.**

Lupin growled, which caused many to glance at him nervously.

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"Gee, do you think he likes to complain about Harry?" Ginny asked sarcastically.

**This morning, it was motorcycles.**

"Yeah!" said Sirius.

**"…roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.  
"I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

Charlie winced. "Bad move."

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

"YES THEY DO!" the Weasley children, san Percy, yelled back.

**Piers and Dudley snickered.**

"Gits."  
"Ginny!"  
"Sorry Mum."

**"I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."  
But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursley's hated more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon- they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

Fred and George turned to Harry with shining eyes.  
"Harry, what are car-"  
"No!" said Mrs. Weasley immediately.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

"It was good!" Harry said quickly.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except it that it wasn't blond.**

"Seriously Harry-"  
"Why aren't you always this funny?"

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him.**

Everyone glowered. "I'm going to murder that pig!" Ginny hissed.  
**They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

"_Allowed to_, _honestly,_" Tonks muttered. She had only met Harry an hour ago but already she liked him and felt a corrosive hatred toward the Dursleys for how they acted toward him.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"Of course," said Ron as Mrs. Weasley looked worried.

"What does that mean?"  
**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon**

"WOAH!"

**'s car**

"Well, I guess that's pretty big too," Fred said, looking slightly disappointed.

**and crushed it into a trash can- but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

**"Make it move," he shined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge.**

"Good," muttered Charlie, ever the animal lover.

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. **

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

"More like rolled," Ginny said.

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself- no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"You're comparing your life to a snake's," said Hermione in disbelief. Harry smiled sheepishly.

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on level with Harry's.**

**_It winked._**

"What?" asked those who didn't know Harry could speak Parseltongue. Harry groaned. What would Sirius and Lupin think of him? Nearly the entire school had turned on him in second year because of it; what if they did too? Harry bit his lip and looked at the floor.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

"What?"

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:  
"****_I get that all the time._****"**

**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."  
The snake nodded vigorously.**

"You're a Parseltongue," said Lupin, surprised. Harry looked down and nodded once.  
"But… How?" asked Sirius, stunned. "I mean, it's passed down through the family, and I know _for sure_ James wasn't one…"  
Harry didn't answer, and avoided looking at him all together, frightened of the reaction he would get.  
"Harry?" Sirius asked.  
"Yes?" he muttered.

"Something wrong?"  
He looked up at them, puzzled. They were both looking at them, worry in their eyes, but he realized it wasn't because of what he could do; they were worried _for_ him. It was an odd feeling, even now, after living with the Dursley's his whole life.

"You know this doesn't change anything, right?" said Lupin, his forehead creasing slightly.

"It doesn't?"  
"Of course not!" scoffed Sirius. "I think it's bloody cool."  
Harry couldn't help the relieved grin that tugged at the corners of his mouth.  
"Thanks."  
Sirius smiled, but his mind was in turmoil. _Does he really trust me so little that he'd think I'd turn my back on him because he could talk to snakes?_

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.  
"Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see- so you've never been to Brazil?"**

"Only you," Ron muttered, and Harry mock-scowled at him.

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T****_ BELIEVE _****WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could.**

"He looked like a penguin," Harry laughed.

The twins cracked up.

**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs.**

Their laughter turned into snarls.

"Get away from our little brother, pig."

Harry was surprised to hear them refer to him as this, and could only stare in shock.  
**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened- one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they leapt up with howls of horror.**

"Oooh, what'd you do?" asked Tonks gleefully.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

Everyone laughed. "Genius!" choked Bill.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo."**

"Polite," Hermione noted.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

"I'd hope so," laughed George.

**"But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"  
The zoo director himself mad Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.  
**"Riiiiiight," said the twins together.

**But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

Everyone groaned.

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry.**

"And what _exactly_ does that mean?" Mrs. Weasley hissed, her eyes narrowing.

**He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go- cupboard- stay- no meals,"**

Everyone roared with anger.  
"No wonder he's so skinny!" said Mrs. Weasley scathingly. "They starve him! That's child abuse!"  
The twins were muttering under their breath, occasionally smiling darkly.  
Sirius and Lupin were talking to each other seriously, faces grim and angry.

McGonagall was shouting at Dumbledore, who looked horrified; were they_ really_ that bad?

Tonks' hair had gone flame red and she was talking animatedly to Ginny, who was seething.

"Harry!" whispered Hermione. She sounded close to tears. "Why didn't you_ tell _us?"  
"Because I knew this would happen!" Harry said loudly. Everyone stopped to look at him. "Look, it really doesn't matter, can we just-"  
"Doesn't _matter_!" Mrs. Weasley scowled.

"Stop saying that!" Ginny said, walking up to him. "Of_ course _it matters, you prat! It matters to _us!_"  
Harry looked confused. "Huh?"

Ginny threw up her hands. "You don't get it, do you? We_ care_ about you, stupid, and this kind of stuff is most _definitely not ok with us!_"

Everyone nodded in agreement. Harry looked shocked.

"I… Um… Thanks," he mumbled, sinking back into his seat and wishing the floor would swallow him. Hermione wrapped an arm around him sisterly as Lupin started to read again.

**before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursley's were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking into the kitchen for some food.**

"Sneaking food in his own home!" said Mrs. Weasley angrily.

**He'd lived with the Dursley's ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that crash.**

Everyone looked furious.

**Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

Everyone looked at Harry. "You remember that too?" asked Lupin quietly. Harry nodded silently.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

Hermione bit her lip, tears pricking at her eyes, and laid her head on Harry's shoulder.  
"I've got some now," Harry said, smiling slightly.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened;**

Sirius closed his eyes and let out a small whimper and Lupin looked at the ground. He didn't think that Harry would want a werewolf in his life, especially not when he was supposed to have a nice loving family.

**the Dursleys were his only family.**

"Not anymore!" said Fred happily.  
"We're your family now, mate," said Ron.

"And family always sticks together," Hermione said with a smile.

Harry smiled while Percy frowned guiltily. Did he really want his family out of his life?

**Yet sometimes he though (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley.**

"Diggle," snorted Mr. Weasley.

**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.  
**"They're wizards," said Bill matter-of-factly.

"Thank you for that enlightening piece of information," Harry grumbled.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and no one liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

Everyone sent Harry sympathetic looks but he did not see them, as he was busy getting smothered by Hermione, who was hugging him tightly.

"'Mione- Let- Go- Can't- Breath-" he gasped.  
"Can I speak to you, Albus?" asked McGonagall coolly.

"Certainly, Minerva."  
They stood up and walked to a door which led into a small room. Everyone in the reading room stopped when they heard yelling and quite a few explosions. Then McGonagall walked calmly back out and sat down in her seat as if nothing had happened. Dumbledore trailed after her, blinking in confusion. "Right then," he said after a moment. "Who would like to read next?"  
"I will!" said Tonks brightly.

"The Letters From No One."

**A/N: THERE! 'Tis up. Yay! This one was interesting to write, what with all the yelling and Harry embarrassing. Hope you all liked it! Please feel free to leave me a review, tell me if you liked it, suggestions for the story, anything you want. Remember, the more you review the faster I write! Thanks!  
~Kayla**


	4. The Letters From No One

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, would I be on this site?

**Chapter 3: The Letters From No One**

"Wait, how can letters be from no one?"

"It's probably Hogwarts, Ron," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.  
"Ooohhhh. Right."

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

"Harry, when's your cousin's birthday?" asked Ginny sharply.

"May 19," he said offhandedly. Everyone growled and Ginny's eyes grew sad. 'Oh, Harry,' she thought.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"He's a beast!" Tonks interrupted herself.

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and the stupidest of the lot, he was the ringleader.**

"Can you imagine if-" Harry thought for a moment. "Crabbe was in charge of Malfoy?"  
Ron and Hermione snorted.

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport:**

"Please tell me it's baseball!" said Tonks.

**Harry Hunting.**

"Of course!" said Mrs. Weasley shrilly.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings.**

Sirius blinked. "Muggles named a school_ Smeltings?_"

**Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to**

"HOGWARTS!"

**Stonewall High,**

"Awwww."

**the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"Why?" asked Ginny, confused.

**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"  
"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it- it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

Everyone laughed. "Your mother's cheek," said Lupin with a smile.

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem so fond of them as before.**

Bill snorted.

**She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

Fred and George gagged as Hermione glared at them. "It's the thought that counts!"

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for his family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters.**

It was too much. The Weasley boys, except for Percy, fell on the floor laughing. Ginny and Hermione had disgusted looks on their faces. "A walrus in orange knickerbockers? Merlin, he must have looked like an idiot!" That just set off another round of laughing.

Tonks started reading a few minutes later when everyone had calmed down.

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later in life.**

"Training?" asked Tonks in disbelief.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life.**

"He needs to get out more then," muttered Charlie.

**Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said that she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

He didn't have the same problem now.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

"What would that be?" asked McGonagall.

**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

"Harry!" chastised Fred.

"How dare you ask a question?" finished George.

**"Your new school uniform," she said.**

"Huh?" was the general response.

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

**"Oh," he said. "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"Somehow, I don't think sarcasm will work with her," chuckled Sirius,

**"Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished.**

"I'm sure it will," said Ginny drily.

"They could have at least bought you a uniform," said Mrs. Weasley in a disappointed voice.

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High- like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

"Yuck."

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.  
"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"Woah!"  
"The git made him do something!"  
"Wait for it," said Harry.

**"Make Harry get it."  
"Get the mail, Harry."**

"Of course," said McGonagall, frowning. She hadn't known his home life was this bad. Unpleasant, maybe, but this?

**"Make Dudley get it."  
"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

Sirius growled at the book while Percy looked on nervously.

**Harry dodged the smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and- ****_a letter for Harry._**

"Woohoo!" cheered the twins.

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would?  
**"Ginny did," Fred snickered.  
"Shut up," Ginny snapped.

**He had no friends, no other relatives- he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back.**

"Oh, I hate those," said Hermione.

"Gasp!"  
"Hermione didn't give a book back?"

"Oh, be quiet you two."

**Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:  
****_Mr. H Potter_**

**_The Cupboard under the Stairs_**

**_4 Privet Drive_**

**_Little Whinging_**

**_Surrey_**

"How do you address those?" asked Mrs. Weasley sharply.

McGonagall grimaced. "Self-addressing quills."

"We really should do something about that," Dumbledore said in agreement.

**The envelop was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**

Harry snickered. "Wizards don't know much about stamps.

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion,**

"GRYFFINDOR!"

**an eagle, a badger,**

"Hufflepuff," put in Tonks with a grin.

**and a snake surrounding a large letter ****_H_****.**

"HOGWARTS!"  
"We KNOW!" yelled Mrs. Weasley and McGonagall.

**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" he chuckled at his own joke.**

"Haha. That was so funny-"  
"I forgot to laugh," completed George.

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

"No, Harry, open it in the hall!" said Sirius.

"I was eleven and excited!" snapped Harry.

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. **

**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…"  
**"Good," Harry muttered.

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"Little sneak!" hissed Bill.

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

"Oi! That's not yours!" snapped Ron.

**"That's ****_mine_****!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

**"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon,**

"Ginny!"  
Ginny cuffed George in the back of the head.

**shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds he had turned the grayish white of old porridge.**

"Ew. Never eating porridge again," said Ron.

"Doubtful," muttered Hermione.

**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

"Drama Queen!" sang Charlie.

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

**"Vernon! Oh my goodness- Vernon!"**

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his smelting stick.**

"We'd be dead men if we did that to Mum," said Ron with a shiver.  
"Too right you would be," muttered Mrs. Weasley.

**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

"What gives him the right?" Ginny said.

**"****_I _****want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's ****_mine_****."  
**"You go, Prongslet!" cheered Sirius.

"Prongslet?" snorted Harry.

"Well, yeah. Son of Prongs. Prongslet. It fits!"  
"You're not calling me Prongslet."  
"Oh come on-"  
"Harrikins!" sang the twins. Harry groaned.

"How many books are left again?"

**"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

"Ah, here we go," said Ron.

"3," said Fred.

"2," George said.

"1," said Ginny.

**"I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

Everyone looked at them oddly. "I'm not that predictable!" said Harry.

Ron snorted. "Please. You have the worst temper.

**"Let ****_me _****see it!" demanded Dudley.**

**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the door behind them.**

Harry rubbed his neck unconsciously.  
"He better not have hurt you!" hissed not Mrs. Weasley, but Ginny.

**Harry and Dudley promptly had a serious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole;**

"HARRY, HARRY, HARRY!"

**Dudley won,**

"AWWW!"  
"He was like, four times as big as me!" defended Harry.

**so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

"Yeah, don't let that git stop you!"  
**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address- how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"Like we'd waste our time doing that," said Bill.

**"Watching- spying- might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

"Paranoid much?" snorted Tonks.

**"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-"  
Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.  
"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…"**

**"But-"  
"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

"Stamp out?" asked Ginny in disbelief.

"That's highly dangerous!" yelled Mrs. Weasley.

"Things could have turned very ugly if that had worked," Lupin said darkly.

"Yes, well, it didn't, so can we read?" asked Harry wearily.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"He fit?" asked Hermione.

"Just his head," said Harry with a grin.

**"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

"GINNY!"  
"I SWEAR, IF YOU TWO DON'T PUT A LID ON THOSE FAT TRAPS OF YOURS, I'LL-"

**"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**

Everyone bristled. "They didn't!" said Tonks.

**"It was ****_not _****a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

"You tell him, Harry!"  
**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling.**

Ron shivered.

**He took a deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

"Probably was," said Harry.

**"Er- yes, Harry- about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting too big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**

"SECOND BEDROOM?" roared Mrs. Weasley. "When I get my hands on that Muggle, I'll-"  
Everyone watched in disbelief as the normally gentle woman ranted things that are best left unsaid.

**"Why?" asked Harry.**

"Why question it?"

"He was doing something nice," said Harry with a shrug.

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors**

"And a _guest_ bedroom!" snapped Mrs. Weasley.

**(usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom.**

"Spoiled brat," was the general mutter.

**It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog;**

"Was it ok?" asked Sirius in a worried voice.  
"Er- yeah, it was fine," Harry lied.

**in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.**

"Poor rifle," said Fred.

**Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

Hermione and Lupin looked scandalized.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't****_ want_**** him in there… I ****_need_**** that room… make him get out…"**

"Harry needs it, you great lump," snapped Ginny.

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

"Bloody curiosity," Ron muttered.

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back.**

There was a silence. No one could believe a child could behave this badly and get away with it.

"Bloody hell," Ron muttered to Harry so his mother wouldn't hear. "How does he get away with that?"

Harry shrugged. "He's Dudley."

**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it.**

"Making sure you don't get your letter, is more likely," said Charlie.

**They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive-'" **

"If he wanted to read it, why did he yell that?" asked Ginny.

"The thought probably never crossed his mind," said Harry. "He's extremely stupid."

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.**

Ron laughed. "Practicing for later?"

"You bet," laughed Harry. Everyone watched them in confusion.

**After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.  
"Go to your cupboard- I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley- go- just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

Ron and Hermione groaned.

"What? My plans aren't that bad," said Harry defensively.

"No, but at that point in time, they weren't very well… thought out. They had the tendency to go horribly wrong and ended with you trying to fix it by doing something really brave and entirely stupid."

"Thanks," Harry said crossly. Everyone looked at them in amusement. Somehow, no one thought the Golden Trio would behave this… normal, with everything that they get themselves into.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first.**

"That's actually not a bad plan," said Hermione. "How does it go wrong?"  
"How do you know it goes wrong?" asked Harry, annoyed.

Ron laughed. "Oh, it will.

**His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door-**

**"AAAAARRRGH!" **

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat- something ****_alive_****!**

"You didn't!" laughed Fred.  
"I did," said Harry.

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face.**

Everyone burst out laughing. "Even better!" said George.

"Take that Dursley!" said Fred.

**Uncle Vernon had been lying on the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go make a cup of tea.**

The laughter died. "He's not a servant," snarled Ginny.

**Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

**"I want-" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**

"Now that's just cruel," complained Bill.

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

"Paranoid much?" snorted Ron.

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't ****_deliver _****them they'll just give up."  
"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're no like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

"Thank Merlin," said Ginny drily. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we did."

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters had arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

"Well, we are very persistent," said McGonagall.

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"He's going mad," said Fred.**  
On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry had found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window.**

"Brilliant," snorted Sirius.

**While Uncle Vernon mad furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

**"Who on earth wants to talk to ****_you_**** this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"WE ALREADY TOLD YOU! GINNY!"

"That's it!" said Ginny, jumping up and pulling out her wand. She shot a bat-bogey hex at the twins, and they spent the next five minutes running around, being attacked by their own snot. Everyone found this quite amusing until Hermione finally took pity on them and took it off.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and ill, but happy.**

"Why?" asked Lupin suspiciously.

**"No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully**

"Yes there is!" said Ron, confused.

Hermione sighed. "Not for Muggles, Ron."  
**as he spread marmalade on his newspapers,**

"Ummm…"

**"no damn letters today-"**

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets.**

Lupin chuckled. "Interesting method."

**The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one-**

"Why didn't you just pick one off the ground?" asked Hermione. Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Errr... Seeker skills?"

**"Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

Sirius growled. "Don't touch my godson, you son of a bitch."  
"Sirius! Language!" chastised Mrs. Weasley, though you could tell it was half-hearted.

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor.  
"That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time.**

Tonks winced. "Ouch."

**"I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the hallway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

"But I thought their Ickle Diddykins could do no wrong!" gasped Ginny.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.**

**"Shake 'em off… shake 'em off…" he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"He's mad!" exclaimed Bill.

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

"Aw, poor Dudders-"  
"Welcome to Harry's life," nodded Fred solemnly.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering…**

"About what?" asked Ron curiously.

Harry shrugged. "Dunno. Where the letter writer was, maybe."

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day.**

Ginny gagged. "Merlin, that's disgusting."

**They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these up at the front desk."  
She held up a letter so they could see the green ink address: **

**Mr. H. Potter**

**Room 17**

**Railview Hotel**

**Cokeworth**

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

"Why didn't she do anything?" asked Mrs. Weasley in exasperation.

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room.**

**"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her.**

"Even his wife knows he's crazy!" said Sirius.

**Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage.**

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon.**

"Daddy's been mad, Dudders," said George solemnly.

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.  
It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.**

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a ****_television._****"**

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it ****_was_**** Monday- and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television- then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" shouted the twins.

"First of all, this happened four years ago, and second, it's not my birthday," said Harry, amused.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun- last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**

"Harry dear, what do you want for your birthday this year?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Nothing Mrs. Weasley, I really don't need-"  
"Don't try to get out of it," said Sirius. "We're all spoiling you this year. No buts," he added at the look on Harry's face.

**Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

"Yeah, only 364!" said George brightly.

"Oh, you know what I mean."

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling.**

Fred let out a loud, fake scream.

**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.  
"Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine.**

"That's his perfect place?" asked Mrs. Weasley faintly.

**One thing was certain, there was no television in there.**

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below.**

"Yes, because he seems trustworthy," said Tonks, rolling her eyes.

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!" **

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms.**

"Pleasant place," snorted Ron.

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas.**

"Those aren't rations!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously.

**He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.**

**"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

"Git," Charlie muttered.

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all.**

"Are you always this optimistic?" snorted Bill.

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

"They could have at least given you a good blanket," muttered Mrs. Weasley sadly.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minute'' time.**

"HAPPY-"  
"It's not my birthday!"  
**He lay and watched** **his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

"Sleeping," snorted Sirius with a glance at McGonagall.

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

"You'd be dead."

"Thanks, Ginny."

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

Fred snorted. "That would be something, wouldn't it?"

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into sea?**

"Oh, I hope not," said Mrs. Weasley fretfully.

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine- maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him- **

"DO IT!" exclaimed the twins.

**three… two… one…**

**BOOM.**

"Tonks!" exclaimed Lupin, rubbing his ears. She looked at him sheepishly.

"Sorry Remus, forgot about your hearing."

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"Ooo, ominous," said George.

"That's the end of the chapter," said Tonks. "Next reader?"  
"Me!" exclaimed both twins.

"Let's go with Fred," Tonks said, pointing to one of them, who grinned.

"Alright, give me-"  
"Woah woah woah, _I'm_ Fred!" said the other one.

"No, I am!"

"You're George!"  
"No, you're George!"  
"Wait, I thought I was George!"  
"No, you're Fred."  
"Wasn't I just Fred?"  
"Nah, that was you."  
"Oh, so I'm George."  
"No, I am!"

"Boys!" said Mrs. Weasley. Everyone shook their heads as both twins turned to face her, trying to wrap their minds around their conversation.

"You take it," said Tonks, shoving it at one of them.

"Yay!"  
"Aw, come on, why does Fred get it?"  
"The Keeper of the Keys," read Fred.

**A/N: There we are! Updated! Sorry for the wait, my life got hectic, and then I got sick… Anyways, hope you liked it! It was 22 pages on Word, gosh… I just love writing about the twins ;) Remember to review! Tell me what characters you would like to join the reading, I was thinking about Neville and maybe Luna… No Dursleys though, at least not yet. I'm not really up to writing any deaths. Thanks so much, next chapter should be up soon!  
Ciao,**

**Kayla**


	5. The Keeper of the Keys

Disclaimer: No, just, no. I'm not J.K. Rowling, and I never will be.

**Chapter 5: The Keeper of the Keys**

"Hey, isn't that Hagrid's job?" asked Ron.

"Yes, now shut up."

**BOOM.  
**"Fred!"  
"It's bolded, therefore, I must yell."

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.  
"Where's the cannon?" he asked stupidly.**

"Okay, what's a cannon?" asked George.  
"A muggle weapon. Propels projectiles towards enemies at high speeds. They're really dangerous," said Hermione.

**There was a loud crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands- now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"He bought a rifle!" exclaimed Hermione. "Around children!"  
"What's a rifle?" asked Ron.  
"Honestly, you should all take Muggle Studies. A rifle is like a small cannon, extremely dangerous!"  
And now everyone else was angry and stunned too.

**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you- I'm armed!"**

"So are we!" shouted George, flapping his arms like a giant red-headed bird.

**There was a pause. Then-**

**SMASH!  
**"FRED!"  
"IT'S BOLDED!"

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man was standing the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

"Wow Harry, you make him sound so scary," snickered Ron.

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.  
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…"  
**Everyone laughed. "Typical Hagrid," said Charlie fondly.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.  
"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.  
**Fred and George chuckled. "Take that you pig."

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother**

"How would that help?" asked Ginny.

**who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

"Ah."

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.  
"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

"First time I heard that," said Harry with a smile.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

**"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!" **

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant;**

"WOOHOO! GO HAGRID! TELL THAT-"  
"BOYS!"

**he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

Both Hermione and Mrs. Weasley sighed in relief. "Well, there's that taken care of."

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**"Anyway- harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here- I mighta sat on it at some point at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

"Oh no, he brought something… edible," said Ron worriedly.

**From and inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with ****_Happy Birthday Harry _****written on it in green icing.**

"Aw," said Hermione. "That's so sweet!"

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?" **

"Manners, Harry!"  
"Sorry Mrs. Weasley."

**The giant chuckled.  
"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He reached out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

"Hurts, that does," said Ron, wincing.

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

"Hagrid!" chastised Mrs. Weasley. "Drinking in front of children, honestly."

Everyone glanced at each other, not brave enough to tell her that she was talking to a book.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

**The giant**

"Honestly Harry, he already told you his name," laughed Bill.

"First of all, I still didn't know who he was, and second, I didn't write this!"  
**sat back on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

"That man!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley in exasperation.

"How many pockets does he have?" asked Ginny in wonderment.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley."**

"Like he needs it," snorted George.

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

**"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." **

**He passed the sausages to harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

"There's a good boy, Harry, remember your manners," said Mrs. Weasley approvingly. Ron rolled his eyes.

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyon does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts- yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course."  
**"No, he doesn't," said Sirius darkly.

**"Er-no," said Harry.**

"Hagrid's not going to like that!" laughed Fred.

**Hagrid looked shocked.  
"Sorry," said Harry quickly.**

"Why were you apologizing?" asked Ginny again, exasperated.

"Because everything's always my fault," said Harry simply. When everyone opened their mouths to argue, he said, "Keep reading, Fred."  
**"****_Sorry?_****" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"  
"All what?" asked Harry.**

"Uh oh," said Charlie.

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy- this boy!- knows nothin' about'- about ANYTHING?"  
**Hermione laughed. "Harry's going to take that the wrong way."

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

**"I know ****_some _****things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

"I don't think that's what he meant," chuckled Lupin.

Harry scowled. "I know that now."

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About ****_our _****world, I mean. ****_Your _****world. ****_My _****world. ****_Yer parents' world._****"**

**"What world?"  
**"Dun dun dun!" chorused the twins.

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble."**

"What's that?" asked Mr. Weasley, looking eagerly at Hermione, who laughed.  
"That's not a real thing, Mr. Weasley."  
"Oh," he said, looking quite put out.

**Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

**"But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're ****_famous. _****You're ****_famous._****"**

"Unfortunately," muttered Harry.

**"What? My- my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"  
**Everyone laughed. "Of course," said Hermione. "You didn't even comprehend that you're famous, just your parents."

**"Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his f ingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.  
"Yeh don' know what yeh ****_are_****?" he said finally.**

"That's sure to make him feel special," snorted Charlie. "Makes it sound like he's an alien or something."

Fred and George jumped on Harry, digging in his hair. "What are you doing?" he asked, bewildered.  
"Checking for antennae," explained Fred.

"Oh get off," muttered Harry, pushing them off him to fresh laughter.

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

"Git."

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"  
**"Riiiight, like_ he _could stop _Hagrid_," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years!"  
"Kept ****_what _****from me?" said Harry eagerly.**

Ron shook his head. "Too damn curious," he muttered.

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

**"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry- yer a wizard."**

Fred snorted. "Very blunt, Hagrid."

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

"Ooh, what's ickle Harrykins' reaction going to be?" asked George eagerly.

**"I'm a ****_what?_****" gasped Harry.**

Everyone laughed. "That's how I reacted," nodded Hermione.

**"A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read your letter."**

"FINALLY!" shouted the twins.

**Harry stretched his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

**_Hogwarts School_**

**_Of Witchcraft and Wizardry._**

**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore**

**_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warock, Supreme_**

**_Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_**

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

** We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.**

** Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

**_Minerva McGonagall_**

**Minerva McGonagall,**

**_Deputy Headmistress_**

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"  
**Ginny laughed. "Harry," she said. "Out of all the questions, you ask why they await your _owl?_"  
"It was the last thing I read!" said Harry defensively.

**"Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock out a cart horse** (-snickers-)**, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl- a real, live, rather ruffled owl-**

Charlie looked outraged.

**a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:  
**"You can read it upside down?" asked Ron. "I can barely read it right-side up."

**_Dear Professor Dumbledore, _**

**_Given Harry his letter._**

**_Taking him to buy his things tomorrow._**

**_Weather's horrible. Hope you're well._**

**_Hagrid._**

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm.**

"Hagrid," groaned Hermione.

**Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"It is!" said Ron. "It's much better than talking on the fellytone!"  
"Telephone, Ron," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

"Slick," snickered George.

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.  
"He's not going," he said.**

**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.  
"A what?" said Harry, interested.**

**"A muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."  
**"In both ways," pointed out Ginny.

**"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him!**

"They what?!" cried Mrs. Weasley, looking furious.

"That's extremely dangerous!" said an outraged McGonagall.

"Yes, but it didn't work, did it?" said Harry. "Now, let's read."  
The two women still grumbling, Fred continued to read.

**Wizard indeed!"  
"You ****_knew?_****" said Harry. "You ****_knew _****I'm a- a wizard?"**

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "****_Knew!_**** Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was?**

"Lily wasn't dratted!" seethed Sirius and Remus.

**Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that- that ****_school_****- and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats.**

"But that's against the law!" said Ron.

"Muggleborns are allowed to show their parents magic, just so they can show that they really are learning things," Hermione explained.  
"That's not fair!" said Ron.

**I was the only one who saw her for what she was- a ****_freak!_**** But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"  
**"While I don't approve of her actions," said Hermione, "that is very sad, being treated as if she wasn't important."

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

"Oh, she was," said Dumbledore heavily.

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as- as- ****_abnormal-_**** and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"  
**Everyone was shocked.  
"That's how you found out?" asked Remus sadly.

Harry tensed and nodded shortly. By instinct Ginny took his hand comfortingly without giving it a second thought. Harry smiled gratefully at her.

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"  
"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid**

"Oh, Hagrid's mad now," said George.

**jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? An outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"  
**"Unfortunately," muttered Harry, still holding Ginny's hand.

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.  
The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble getting' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh- but someon's gotta- yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

"Can you imagine if you had?" asked Ron with a grin.  
Harry shivered. "That would have been horrible.

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh- mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…"**

**He sat down, stared at the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with- with a person called- but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-"  
**"He'll never say it," said George confidently.

"I don't know," said Fred. "Harry can do anything."  
"I cannot!" said Harry.

"Tell you what. One galleon he won't say it," said George.  
"You're on."

**"Who?"  
**"You know who!" said Fred.  
"Hilarious. Now read."

**"Well- I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

**"Why not?"**

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared.**

"Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself," said Harry. Dumbledore smiled proudly and sent him a wink.

**Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…"  
Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.  
"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

**"Nah- can't spell it. All right- ****_Voldemort._****"**

"No way!" complained George.

"Pay up!" said Fred happily, holding out a hand. George grudgingly dropped a coin into it.

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this- this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too- some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was getting' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him- an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

**"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day!**

"Still don't know how James managed that," muttered Remus. Sirius grinned.

**Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' to do with the Dark Side.**

"They never would have gone over," said Sirius.

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an'- 'an-"  
**Harry's jaw clenched. Ginny squeezed his hand.

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted, handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad- knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find-**

Everyone who had known them agreed quietly.

**anyway… **

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then- an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing- he tried to kill you , too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on your forehead? **

Harry absentmindedly touched his scar.

**That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh- took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even- but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age- the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts-**

Molly covered her mouth with her hand. The memory of her brother's death was just so vivid. Mr. Weasley put an arm around her shoulders.

**an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."  
Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before- and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life; a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

"Oh, Harry," said Hermione sadly. "You shouldn't have to remember that."  
Everyone exchanged sad glances.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.  
"Took yeh from the ruined house, myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…"  
"Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten the Dursley's were there.  
**So had everyone in the room. They jumped, then glared at the book.

**Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

**"Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured-**

"He won't lay a hand on you!" snarled Sirius.

**and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdos, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion-**

"It is not!" said Tonks furiously.  
**asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types- just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end-"**

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley- I'm warning you- one more word…"  
**"Do it!" cheered the twins.

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

"Good," said McGonagall."

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them.**

"When doesn't he?" asked Hermione and Ron. Harry rolled his eyes."

**"But what happened to Vol-, sorry- I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

"No way!" said Fred.  
"Harry didn't say his name!" said George.  
"The first and last time," said Ron.

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was getting' more an' more powerful- why'd he go?**

"That is a good question, one I'm still looking for the answer for," muttered Harry.

**"Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinon. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. 'Cause sometin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on- ****_I _****dunno what it was, no one does- but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

"Harry," groaned Hermione.

**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

"Magic doesn't work that way, Harry," Hermione said.  
Harry rolled his eyes. "I know, 'Mione."  
**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake, I don't think I can be a wizard."**

"Wouldn't that have been weird?" chuckled George.  
"The Boy-Who-Lived, a squib," said Fred.

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

**"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry… chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach… dreading going back to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back… and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?  
**"Actually, you just set it free," pointed out Hermione.

"You ruin all the fun, Hermione," Ron said. "I say the snake attacked him!"

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard- you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

Harry groaned.

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

"Ugh!" Ginny said.

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish- spell books and wands and-"  
**"That's not rubbish!" said Tonks.  
**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled-"**

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

Everyone winced. "He shouldn't have said that," Fred said.  
**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER-" he thundered, "-INSULT-ALBUS-DUMBLEDORE-IN-FRONT-OF-ME!"**

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley- there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

"GO HAGRID!" shouted the twins.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."  
**Ron snickered. "I don't doubt it."

**HE cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows. **

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm-er- not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff- one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job-"  
"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.  
"Oh, well- I was at Hogwarts meself but I- er- got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."  
**"Thank you, Hagrid," said Dumbledore cheerfully.

Everyone glanced at each other. _Does he know he's talking to a book?_

**"Why were you expelled?"**

"That's what we want to know!" said the twins.

The trio glanced at each other with grins.

**"It's getting' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."  
**"Subtle," said Sirius.

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.  
"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a coupld o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"The end!" said Fred.

"So soon?" asked George, feigning shock.  
"Yes, the book is over! Pity!"  
"Just read," said Hermione.  
"Downer," muttered George, taking the book. "Okay. Chapter 5: Diagon Alley."

**A/N: Okay.  
Sorry for the long wait!  
My life got super busy, but I should be back (more or less) on schedule now!  
PLEASE REVIEW! If you don't review, I won't write, as I don't know if anyone's reading. So please, take thirty seconds of your life to type a few words!  
Thanks so much for reading!  
xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	6. Diagon Alley

**Hey everyone!  
Okay, sorry for the wait, but I have my reasons. First, I'm juggling school, violin, softball, and writing all at once. It was also Halloween, and I have my English final coming up, my internet deleted most of my work on this story (RAWR!) and my grandfather recently died. Not to mention this is a long chapter. I wish I could update faster, but I have other stories I'm working on too, so please bear with me. My computer was fixed, so I should be better now with updating. Thanks!**

**Onto the story!**

**Chapter 5: Diagon Alley**

"Finally, things get interesting!" said Fred.

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.  
"It was a dream," he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard."**

"Are you always this pessimistic?" asked Tonks.

"Yes," said Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George.  
"Thanks, guys," said Harry sarcastically.

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise. ****_And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door,_**** Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

**"All right," Harry mumbled. "I'm getting up."**

**He got up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell of him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claws on the window, a newspaper in its beak.**

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him.**

Fred and George looked at each other. "Balloon-"  
"In your stomach?"  
"Brilliant!"  
Everyone groaned.

**He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.  
"Don't do that."  
Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.  
**"Wow, rude owl," said Tonks.

**"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl-"  
"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.  
"What?"  
"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."**

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing ****_but _****pockets- bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags…**

"Blimey," said Charlie, "how many pockets does he have?"  
Harry shrugged.

**finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.  
"Give him five knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.**

"But he doesn't know which ones those are!" said Molly.

**"Knuts?"  
"The little bronze ones."  
Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.  
Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.**

"If he was just going to be getting up anyways, why did he make you do it?" asked Bill.  
"He probably wanted him to get a taste of wizarding money," said Hermione.

**"Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."  
Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.  
**"Not the happy balloon!" cried the twins.  
"I am going to silence you," warned Ginny.

The twins shut up.

**"Um- Hagrid?"  
"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.  
"I haven't got any money- and you heard Uncle Vernon last night… he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

"Of course you have money," said Arthur. "The Potters are the third richest family in the wizarding world."  
"They are?" asked Harry, surprised.  
"Yes," said Dumbledore. "The vault you are using now is just a trust vault. The rest of it will be handed over to you when you turn seventeen."  
"Wow," said Harry quietly.

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"  
"But if their house was destroyed-"  
**"Harry, did you honestly think we kept all of our money in our house?" asked Ginny, rolling her eyes.  
"How was I supposed to know?" asked Harry.

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold- an' I wouldn' say no the a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."  
"Wizards have ****_banks?_****"  
**"Yes," said Bill.  
"I know," said Harry, rolling his eyes.

**"Just the one.**

"Actually, there are a few in other countries, but they are all branches of Gringotts," said Charlie.

**Gringotts. Run by goblins."  
Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

"No!" said Ron.  
"Ron, do you always think with your stomach?" scowled Hermione.  
"Yes," said everyone else.  
"Thanks, guys," muttered Ron.

**"****_Goblins?_****"**

**"Yeah- so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yyeh want ter keep safe- 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you- getting' things from Gringotts- knows he can trust me, see.**

"I do," said Dumbledore with a smile.

**"Got everythin'? Come on, then."  
Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.  
"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat. **

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**

"_Flew?_" asked Sirius in disbelief.  
**_"Flew?_****"**

Everyone laughed, and Sirius winked at Harry. Percy was appalled to see his family acting so normally around the murderer.

**"Yeah- but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."  
They settled down in the boat,**

"How did the Dursleys get back?" asked Remus.  
"Something about flagging down a coast guard," said Harry with a grin.

**Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

"You and me both," muttered Charlie.

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter- er- speed things up a bit, would yeh mind no mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"  
**"That is against the law!" said Percy. The twins glared at him.  
"Shut up, Percy," George said.

"No one cares," added Fred.

Percy felt the back of his neck burn and turned his head, sticking his chin in the air. Molly's lip quivered, and Arthur put an arm around her shoulders. "It's alright," he said comfortingly.

**"Of course not," said Harry again, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**

"What do you want to bet he does it by the end of the series?" asked Charlie. Bill snorted.  
"Rob Gringotts? He wouldn't be that crazy."  
"Five galleons," said Bill.

"You're on."  
"You'd better not rob Gringotts," said Molly.

**"Spells- enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons gaurdin' the high-security vaults.**

"That's animal abuse!" cried Charlie.

**And then yeh gotta find yer way- Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."  
Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the ****_Daily Prophet._**

"A load of rubbish!" said Ron.**  
Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

"When do you not have a ton of questions?" asked Hermione.

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

"Still are," said George, shooting a glare at Percy, who glared back.

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.  
"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job.**

"You would have been a much better Minister, Professor," said Ginny.  
"Thank you, but the thought never appealed to me," said Dumbledore, smiling kindly.

**So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."  
"But what does a Ministry of Magic ****_do?_****"  
**"Nothing!" cried the twins.

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

**"Why?"**

"I know now!" said Harry, seeing the looks being sent his way.

**"****_Why?_**** Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."  
At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.  
Passerby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station.**

"Can you blame them?" asked Ron.

**Harry couldn't blame them.**

Ron blinked.

**Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"  
**"Hagrid," groaned Molly, but Arthur looked excited.  
"I know!" he said. "Like those tellytubes, really ingenious!"  
"Do you mean televisions, Mr. Weasley?" asked Hermione, looking amused.  
"Yes yes, those!"

"Keep reading, George, or we'll be here all night talking about them," said Ginny.

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are ****_dragons _****at Gringotts?"**

"There'd better not be," said Charlie, glaring at Bill, who whistled innocently.

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."  
**The trio glanced at each other, and Charlie bit his lip. They hadn't exactly mentioned the dragon incident with Molly… actually, they hadn't really mentioned anything to her… this was going to be one hard year for her, not to mention the upcoming ones.

**"You'd ****_like _****one?"**

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid- here we go."  
**"Only Hagrid," said Fred, shaking his head.

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

"It's quite simple, actually," said Hermione.

"No it's not!" said Ron.

"Well, it's easier than wizarding money. There's a pattern to it," Hermione said.  
"I don't get what's so-"  
"Moving on!" said Harry loudly.

Everyone looked at each other, amused. Was this how the Golden Trio acted in private?  
**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow tent.**

"Subtle," said Sirius.

**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches.**

**Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."  
Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:  
**"How'd you not notice it?" asked Ginny.

"Well, I was a bit preoccupied the night before," Harry said dryly.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**UNIFORM**

**First-year students will require:  
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

**2. One plain pointed black hat (black) for day wear**

"When do we ever wear those?" asked Bill.

**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**

Charlie scowled.

**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

**COURSE BOOKS**

**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

**_The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_**

**by Miranda Goshawk**

**_A History of Magic _****by Bathilda Bagshot**

**_Magical Theory _****by Adalbert Waffling**

**_A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration _****by Emeric Switch**

**_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _****by Phyllida Spore**

**_Magical Drafts and Potions _****by Arsenius Jigger**

**_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _****by Newt Scamander**

"The best one," put in Charlie.

**_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _****by Quentin Trimble**

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

**1 wand**

**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**

**1 set glass or crystal phials**

**1 telescope**

**1 set brass scales**

**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

"What if we brought an owl AND a cat AND a toad?" asked Fred.

"Then you would send two home," said McGonagall sternly.

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS  
**Ron snorted. "Followed that rule well, didn't you Harry?"

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

"If you know where to go," said Bill. George snickered.

"What?" asked Charlie.  
George read the next line.

**"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.**

Bill blinked, then laughed too.

**Harry had never been to London before.**

"You haven't?" asked Ginny. "I thought it was near your house."

"Aunt Petunia left me behind," he said quietly.  
Sirius growled in a dog-like fashion. "When I get my hands on them…" he left the threat hanging, and Harry couldn't help but smile at the fact that Sirius cared so much for him.

**Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

Remus chuckled.

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic,"  
**"It's actually quite easy for them," said Hermione. "They don't know it exists, and therefore don't miss it."  
**he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.  
Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them?  
**"Yup," said Ron.

**Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?**

"Yup," said Fred.

**Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?  
**"Er- no," said Ginny. "They wouldn't be able to do it with their lack of imagination, humor, and fun."

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

"I know the feeling, said Tonks.

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."  
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all In fact, harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.  
**"Muggle repelling charms," said Remus.

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.**

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"  
**Everyone laughed. "Of course," said Charlie.

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

"Hagrid doesn't exactly… know his own strength," said Dumbledore with a smile.

**"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this- can this be-?"**

"And so it begins," muttered Harry.

**The leaky cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.  
"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… what an honor."  
He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."**

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.  
Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

Ron grinned and opened his mouth to say something, but Harry cut across him. "Don't even try."

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

"That Hufflepuff a few years behind us?" asked Sirius.  
"Yeah," chuckled Remus. "A bit absentminded, but she has a good heart.

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

**"Always wanted to shake your hand- I'm all of a flutter."  
"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."  
**"Dedalus!" said Tonks. "Oh, he's wonderful."

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!"**

Ron opened his mouth again. "Ron," Harry warned.  
Ron shut his mouth.

**Harry shook hands again and again- Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

Dumbledore chuckled good-naturedly. "Doris," he said fondly.

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.  
"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid.**

The trio frowned. They realized that no one knew exactly what had happened down there- Fred, George, and Percy just knew vaguely about the chess set, and everyone else had no idea. They hadn't told Molly… well, anything, knowing she would have a heart attack with all they did.

This was going to be seven long books.

**"Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."  
"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell,**

"Wow, he's really excited to meet you," said Sirius with a grin.  
"Not exactly," muttered Harry.

**grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."  
"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"  
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.**

"Er- why?" asked Tonks.  
"You'll see," said Hermione.

**"N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

"Some defense teacher," muttered Sirius.

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.  
"Must get on- lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."**

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.  
Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh- mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

**"Is he always that nervous?"  
"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some first-hand experience… They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag- never been the same since.**

The trio glanced at each other, knowing what was making him so nervous, and Dumbledore frowned ever so slightly.

**Scared of the students, scared of his own subject-**

"Why hire him then, Professor?" asked Tonks.

"He is the only one I could find," said Dumbledore.

**now, where' me umbrella?"  
Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

**"Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."  
He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

"DUN DUN DUN!" shouted the twins, surprising everyone. Remus winced because of his enhanced hearing.

"That's it!" said Ginny. She pulled out her wand. "_Silencio!_"  
The twins opened their mouth, but nothing came out. They mouthed like goldfish for a few seconds, glaring at their sister, who smiled back.  
"You're welcome," she said to the room at large.

"I'll read now," said Remus, as George no longer could. He reached over and plucked the book from the silent twin, who crossed his arms in what was unmistakably a pout.

**The brick he had touched quivered- it wriggled- in the middle, a small hole appeared- it grew wider and wider- a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

"It is amazing," said Hermione.

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

Remus and Sirius exchanged sad looks. It was supposed to be James who took Harry to Diagon Alley for the first time, but because of that rat, that wasn't possible.

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into a solid wall.**

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons- All Sizes- Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver- Self-Stirring- Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

"Don't get the collapsible," warned Sirius.

Remus laughed. "Yes, you would know, wouldn't you, Paddy?"  
Sirius turned red. "Shut up," he muttered.

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"Well," Remus said, since Sirius refused to speak, "Sirius here decided to get a collapsible cauldron in his fifth year. The problem was, it collapsed all the time. One time, we were making a hair-removal draught, and-" he chuckled. "Sirius' hair didn't grow back for weeks."  
"Oh, shut up," said Sirius as everyone laughed, the twins slapping their armchairs silently. "Keep reading, Moony."  
**"Yeah, you'll be needing one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."  
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.**

Ron shuddered.

**He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"  
**"They are!" said Molly.

"Was that you, Mrs. Weasley?" asked Harry in surprise.  
"It might have been, sweetie, I did need dragon liver around that time."

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium- Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand- fastest ever-"**

"Not anymore!" said Harry, smiling at Sirius.

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon…**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was-**

"A goblin," said Bill.

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

**_Enter, stranger, but take heed_**

**_Of what awaits the sin of greed,_**

**_For those who take, but do not earn,_**

**_Must pay most dearly in their turn._**

**_So if you seek beneath our floors_**

**_A treasure that was never yours,_**

**_Thief, you have been warned, beware_**

**_Of finding more than treasure there._**

"I always liked that poem," said Ginny.

**"Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

"Yes, you would," said Mrs. Weasley, looking at the trio. Ron threw up his hands.

"We're not going to rob it!"

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."  
"You have his key, sir?"  
**"Oh, I hope he does," said Mrs. Weasley.

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers.**

"Bet they loved that," said Bill dryly.

**The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

"I bet those are gorgeous," said Ginny wistfully.

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

**"That seems to be in order."  
"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen.**

"Hagrid," groaned everyone.

**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once- **"What, George?"

George was jumping up and down next to his brother, waving his hands in the air. They indicated to their mouths and gave Ginny a pleading look.  
"Oh, alright," she muttered. "But I swear, I will put it on you again!"  
She performed the countercurse and they immediately burst.  
"Yay! We can talk again!"  
Hermione sighed. "I was enjoying the peace. Keep reading, Remus."

**Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets,**

"Why doesn't he just throw them away?" asked Hermione.  
Charlie shrugged. "It's Hagrid."

**he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**

"Too curious for your own good," muttered Molly.

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

"And that's just going to make it worse," said Charlie. Harry smiled sheepishly.

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in- Hagrid with some difficulty- and they were off.**

"I hate the carts," groaned Charlie.  
Bill grinned. "I love them."

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.**

"It was designed that way," said Bill. "But I'm surprised; not even I can make it that far."

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.  
Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he was a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon,**

Charlie narrowed his eyes slightly.

**but too late- they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

**"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"  
**"It explains in the book, Hermione," said Harry as she opened her mouth. She shut it again, scowling.

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," **

"That is _not _what I was going to say," muttered Hermione.

**said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."  
He did look very green, and when the cart got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

"Poor Hagrid," said Sirius.

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze knuts.**

Remus read into the awkward silence. The Weasleys weren't making eye contact with each other, and Harry was frowning at the floor. He would gladly give the Weasleys half of his money, but they weren't ones to accept charity.

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's- it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking.**

Sirius growled in a very dog-like way, and Remus began reading in clipped tones.

**How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep?  
**Harry shifted uncomfortably. He hated being a burden to anyone, and the Weasleys did so much for him, not to mention Sirius and Remus. How much had he cost them?  
Ginny noticed this, and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "You're not a burden," she said in a low voice. "We love having you around."  
"Thanks," whispered Harry, turning slightly pink at her being so close. Wait, since when does Ginny make him nervous?

**And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.  
Hagrid helped Harry pile some if it into a bag.  
"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough.**

"No it's not!" said Hermione.

**Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"  
**"Only one speed," said Bill.

**"One speed only," said Griphook.**

"You know, that's creepy, Bill. You've been around Goblins too much," said Charlie.

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed.**

"I thought it was one speed only?" said Fred.

**The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

"Good," said Molly and Sirius together. They looked at each other, eyebrow's raised.

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

"So then how do you get in?" asked George.  
"Magic," said Fred, waving his hands in the air.

"I liked it better when they were silenced," Ron muttered to Harry, who nodded.

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

"Cool!" chorused the twins.

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

"Cool!"

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

"Er… not so cool," muttered George.

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least- but at first he thought it was empty.**

"Huh?"

**Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.**

"Wow," said Tonks.

**Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

"Who are you and what have you done with Harry Potter?" asked Ron.

"Oi!"  
**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

"Yeah, that would be best," winced Remus.

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life- more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

"Ha!" said Fred.

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron?  
**"Hagrid…" said Mrs. Weasley warningly.

**I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

"Well, at least it's only that shop," said Sirius. "Madam Malkin is nice."

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

**"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here- another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

"Great!" said Mrs. Weasley, brightening. "You can make a friend!"  
Harry grimaced, remembering who was in the shop.

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes.**

"No!" said Ron. "Not him!"  
"Ron, be polite," said Mrs. Weasley.

**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"  
**"Wow, he's being decent," muttered George.

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice.**

"Great," said Ginny, knowing for certain who it was now.

**"Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

"Nevermind," said Molly. "I don't want you to be friends with this boy."  
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry with a grin. "We most definitely are not friends."

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

Everyone shuddered.

**"Have ****_you _****got your own broom?" the boy went on.**

**"No," said Harry.  
"Play Quidditch at all?"  
"No," said Harry again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

"NOOO!" the twins yelled, falling off their chairs and into a heap on the floor.

"Harry… Potter… not…"  
"Knowing what… Quidditch… is…"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered. "All they ever think about is playing Quidditch."  
"Not true!" said Ron. "We think about Quidditch teams too!"

Hermione groaned. "Read, Remus."  
**"****_I _****do- Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"  
**"No one knows," said Arthur. "That's the whole point of the sorting."

**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

"Don't be. He's just a git."  
"Fred! Language!"  
**"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been- imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"  
**"There is nothing wrong with Hufflepuff!" said Tonks, her hair turning red. Sirius rolled his eyes.  
"We know, Dora."  
"And DON'T CALL ME DORA!"

"Whatever, Dora."  
Remus kept reading before Tonks could take a swing at Sirius.

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

"How thoughtful!" said Molly with a smile.

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."  
"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"Servant?" said Ginny, bristling.

**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**

"You and me both," muttered Bill.

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of ****_savage-_**** lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

"That isn't true!" cried Sirius. "Well… okay, there was that one time, but that was mostly James' fault."

"Actually, that was your fault," said Remus.

"Nuh-uh!"  
"Yes, it was."  
"Are you sure, because I remember it as being James' fault."  
"No."  
"Fine, let's just say it's your fault."  
"No."  
"What did you do?" asked Fred.  
Sirius turned red. "Nothing," he said quickly. "On with the story!"

**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

"Go Harry!"

**"****_Do _****you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"  
"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with the boy.**

"Yeah, if he knew who you were, he'd be bowing and chanting 'I'm not worthy!'" said Fred.

"Which he isn't," added George.

**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all.**

"Git."  
"Sirius!"

**"But they were ****_our _****kind, weren't they?"  
**"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Ginny, her temper flaring.

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."  
"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families.**

"That… that…" spluttered Bill, outraged. Even Percy was struggling to stay calm, and Tonk's hair was a fire-engine red.

**What's your surname, anyway?"**

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.**

"Unfortunately," breathed Harry.

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

"My favorite," said Harry indifferently. Sirius and Molly made a note of that.

**"What's up?" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied.**

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Naturally."

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote.**

"George spilled that on Errol," said Ron. Said twin blinked.  
"It was awesome."

**When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

"Harry Potter, not knowing about Quidditch!"  
"An outrage!"  
"A scandal!"

"A disgrace!"  
"A crime!"  
"A-"  
"SHUT UP!" yelled the rest of the room.

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know- not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

**"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in-"**

"Don't listen to him, Harry," said Remus.

**"Yer not ****_from _****a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh ****_were- _****he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles-**

"Like Hermione," said Ron and Harry together. Hermione blushed slightly, pleased.

**look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"  
**"Good point," nodded Sirius.

**"So what ****_is _****Quidditch?"  
**"A-"  
"I will silence you!"

**"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like- like soccer in the Muggle world- everyone follows Quidditch- played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls- sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

"NO IT'S NOT!" cried the Quidditch lovers in the room.

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"  
"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but-"  
**"WE ARE NOT!" yelled Tonks.  
"I interrupted Hagrid before he could finish," said Harry hurriedly.

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.**

"That would be awesome," sniffed Tonks.

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."  
"Vol-, sorry- You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

Everyone shivered slightly.

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts**

"Hermione's favorite shop," said Harry and Ron together. Hermione blushed.

**where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from ****_Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) _****by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

"Should I even ask?" asked Ginny.

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

"Oh, we could help you with that," winked Fred.  
"And I might have a little something for his aunt and uncle, too," muttered Sirius.

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either**

There were several raised eyebrows at Harry.

**("it says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotten cabbages.**

"Yuck," said Ginny.  
"You know," said Harry thoughtfully, "I was actually looking forward to Potions before I met the teacher."

All the current Hogwarts students nodded, making Dumbledore frown slightly.

**Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

"You don't kill the unicorns for their horns, do you?" asked Hermione with a frown.

"Goodness no," said McGonagall. "We take them when they fall off or already dead unicorns. They're rare, thus making them so expensive."

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.  
"Just yer wand left- oh yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

"How sweet! Remind me to send him something for Christmas," said Molly, beaming.

**Harry felt himself go red.  
"You don't have to-"  
"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at- an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

"So that's where you got Hedwig," said Sirius. Harry nodded, smiling at the thought of his owl.

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrel.**

Harry scowled at being compared to that man.

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys.**

"Harry, you're getting spoiled for your next birthday," said Sirius.  
Repeating what he had done years ago, Harry went red. "You don't have to-"  
"No, I quite agree with Sirius," said Mrs. Weasley.

**Just Ollivanders left now- only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

**A magic wand… this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**

"It's what every new student looks forward to," smiled Dumbledore.

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.**

"That's old," said George with a nod.

"You don't say," said Ginny, rolling her eyes.

**A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

"Who's is that?" asked Harry.

"Merlin's," said Arthur. "Or so they say."

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

"Impressive," said Arthur, "being able to detect magic like that at such a young age, and with no experience."

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

"Creepy," muttered Sirius.

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"How does he remember that?" asked Ginny in awe.  
"Mr. Ollivander has the best memory of everyone I have ever met," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

"You said it," muttered Bill.

**"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration.**

"My best student," whispered McGonagall fondly.

**Well, I say your father favored it- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

**"And that's where…"  
Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

"Really creepy," said Tonks.

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out in the world to do…"**

Everyone was silent.

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

"Merlin's beard, that's huge!" said Bill.

"Well, Hagrid's half-giant," said Charlie.

Bill seemed surprised. "What?"

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Well, it's rather obvious, isn't it? I figured it out second year and asked him about it, and he told me. You mean you never figured it out?"  
"Read," said Bill.

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

**"Er- yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

**"But you don't ****_use _****them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

"Hagrid?" asked Fred in mock-amazement.

"Use them?" continued George.

"NEVER!" they chimed together.

**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now- Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

**"Er- well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."**

Molly frowned, thinking of Ron's old wand. Maybe they should have gotten him a new one to begin with…

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils,**

"Why?" asked Ginny.

"It's measuring your magical capacity," said Remus, which just confused everyone more.

**was doing this on its own.**

"Magic," said Fred.

**Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."**

"That's not it," said Sirius.

"How do you know?" asked Harry.

"It doesn't sound right."

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

"Knew it!" said Sirius happily.

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try-"**

"Nope," said Sirius,

**Harry tried- but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. **

**"No, no- here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."**

"Nuh-"  
"We get it, Sirius!" said Tonks.

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

"He loves a tricky customer," said Dumbledore.

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere- I wonder, now- yes, why not- unusual combination- holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."**

"Now that sounds right," said Sirius.

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.**

"Gryffindor!" cheered the twins.

**Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"**

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…"**

"What's curious?" asked Ginny. Remus grinned as he read ahead.

**"Sorry," said Harry, "but ****_what's _****curious?"**

"Aww," said the twins, causing a very red Ginny to whack them both.

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather- just one other.**

"Fawkes," muttered Harry, not looking forward to everyone learning about the brother wand.

**It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother- why, its brother gave you that scar."**

"What?" yelped Sirius as everyone turned toward Harry, who nodded.

"It's true," he said in a quiet voice. "In the- in the graveyard, the wands connected, and…" he swallowed, then shook his head. "Read," he muttered. Everyone exchanged glances, worried.

**Harry swallowed.**

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things- terrible, yes, but great."**

"Is he complimenting Voldemort?" growled Sirius.

"I think just his magical ability," said Dumbledore quietly.

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much.**

"Me neither," said Tonks.

**He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the leaky cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap.**

"That would look a bit strange," said Hermione.

**Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.**

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

"That's how it felt to me, too," nodded Hermione.

**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life- and yet- he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… But I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry- I mean, the night my parents died."**

"I would hate to be famous for that," said Ginny softly.

Ron frowned. He had often envied Harry for his fame, but now that he thought about it, he was truly grateful that he wasn't famous, especially not for that.

"Besides, you've exceeded everyone's expectations for the 'great Harry Potter," added Fred.

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**  
**"Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts- I did- still do, 'smatter of fact."**

**Hagrid helped Harry on the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "First o' September- King's Cross- it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me… See yeh soon, Harry."  
The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"I swear, if you say magic again I will hit you," warned Ginny. Fred closed his mouth.

"That's it for that chapter," said Remus.

"Wait a second," said Sirius. "Hagrid didn't tell you how to get onto the platform!"

"It's okay," said Harry, exchanging a grin with Ron. "I get on just fine."

"I'm hungry," said Ron.

"What else is new?" muttered Ginny.

"OI!"

"I guess it's about time for dinner," said Molly, standing up. "It should be ready in about fifteen minutes." She walked into the adjoining kitchen as everyone drifted off, discussing what they had already read. The trio grouped together.

"Mum's going to have a heart attack by the end of this book," muttered Ron, "not to mention by the end of the series."

"You don't think anyone who's reading… you know, dies, do you?" asked Hermione nervously. They glanced at each other, unease clear on all their faces.

"Harry, can we talk to you?" asked Sirius. He and Remus were sitting off to the side.

"Uh… sure," said Harry, getting up and joining them.

"Harry, why didn't you tell us how the Dursleys treat you?" asked Remus.

"Well, I guess I never got around to it," said Harry uncertainly. "I mean, I've only known you two for what, two years, and we never discussed stuff like this. Besides, they treat me a lot better, now. I guess they're scared of me."

"But you shouldn't have been treated like that to begin with," growled Sirius.

"I know," said Harry tiredly. "But it's behind me now. Please, can we just forget about this?"

"We won't forget," said Remus, "but we won't dwell on it. Right, Sirius?"

"Oh, all right," snapped Sirius. "But when I meet them-" he pounded his fist into his hand.

"Sirius…" warned Remus.

"Whatever," he muttered.

"Dinner!" called Molly.

Everyone stopped talking and made their way to the kitchen for dinner.

**There ya go! The next chapter should be up soon, as my life should be calming down for a bit.**

**Thanks for reading!  
xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	7. The Journey from Platform 9 and 34

**Hello again!**

**I was given the brilliant idea of listing who is reading before each chapter, to make things easier. That is a brilliant idea! So, before each chapter start, I'm going to recap everyone who's reading at that moment, as members will be added or subtracted often. Reading now are:**

**Harry Potter**

**Hermione Granger**

**Ron Weasley**

**Fred Weasley**

**George Weasley**

**Arthur Weasley**

**Molly Weasley**

**Bill Weasley**

**Charlie Weasley**

**Ginny Weasley**

**Percy Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

**Remus Lupin**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Tonks**

**Okay! Ready for another chapter?**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters**

After a delicious meal of spaghetti and meatballs, everyone gathered once again in the reading room.

"I'll read," said Ginny, taking the book. Clearing her throat, she read, "The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

"Excellent," said Fred.

"Getting away from the Dursleys," added George.

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun.**

"Is it ever?" asked Sirius.

**True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him- in fact, they didn't speak to him at all. **

"Excellent," said Fred."  
"I expect it would get depressing after a while," said Hermione.

**Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.**

Hermione's cheeks tinged pink.

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in ****_A History of Magic._**

"Why were you looking there?" asked Fred, incredulous.

**His school books were very interesting.**

"NO!" shouted the twins.

"How could you betray us like that, Harry?" asked Fred, pretending to wipe away a tear.

"Oh, be quiet. I think it's excellent Harry is taking an interest in his school books," said Hermione crossly.

**He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice.**

"Yuck," muttered Ginny.

**Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.**

"I did that too," said Sirius, Hermione, Ginny, Remus, and Tonks.

"Me too," muttered Percy. The people who heard him looked at him in surprise, and he blushed.

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day,**

"Harry," groaned Hermione.

"What? It gives them less time to change their minds!" said Harry defensively.

**so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.**

"Wimp," the majority of the room muttered.

**"Er- Uncle Vernon?"  
Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.**

"Polite," muttered McGonagall.

**"Er- I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to- to go to Hogwarts."**

**Uncle Vernon grunted again.**

**"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"**

**Grunt. Harry's supposed that meant yes.**

"Wow Harry, you speak troll!" exclaimed the twins.

"I wish you did," muttered Ron.

"Yeah, it would have come in handy," said Harry.

"Why?" asked Molly suspiciously.

"Nothing!" chorused the boys together. Remus and Sirius glanced at each other.

**"Thank you."**

"At least _someone_ remembered their manners," said McGonagall.

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.**

"No way!" said Fred.

**"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"**

"No, they're illegal," said Remus.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We know, Remy."

"Don't call me Remy!" Remus said hotly.  
"Remy?" asked Harry, bemused.  
"Sirius and your father called me that for years," said Remus, glaring at his friend. "It was bl- extremely annoying."  
"Was our dear professor about to swear?" asked George innocently.  
"Read, Ginny," said Remus, ignoring them.

**Harry didn't say anything.**

**"Where is this school, anyway?"**

"Scotland," chorused Hermione and Remus together. They looked at each other in surprise.  
"Clones," said Ron and Sirius.  
"This is freaky," Harry and Ginny said.

**"I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.  
"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read.**

**His aunt and uncle stared.  
"Platform what?"  
"Nine and three-quarters."**

**"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."**

"Woah woah woah," said Sirius. "Petunia knows how to get on the platform! She watched Lily do it!"

"Git," muttered Bill.

**"It's on my ticket."  
"Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."**

**"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.**

"Don't bother," advised Charlie.

**"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

Tonks laughed. "I can't imagine what the hospital said when he showed up asking to remove a pig's tail."

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep.**

"Anxious, were you?" asked Remus.

"I woke up at five-thirty," admitted Hermione.

"Same," chorused most, except for the twins, who were beaming.

"These two," said Ron, motioning to the identical teens, "woke up at 10:45. And they weren't packed. Mum went ballistic."  
"I did not," muttered Molly, turning red. "And they should have been packed!"

"Relax, Mum. We made it," said the twins airily.

Percy watched the exchange, frowning hard to keep from smiling at the memory. For at least the fifth time this book, he wished that he wasn't fighting with his family. Being with them again just made him miss them, and he was starting to think that Harry wasn't as mad as he had been taught to believe. Maybe _he _was the one in the wrong, and not his family?

**He got up and pulled on his jeans, because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes- he'd change on the train.**

"Good idea," said Remus. "You have a lot more tact than Sirius."  
"How was I supposed to know Muggles don't wear robes?" asked Sirius.

**He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.**

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him.**

"Why is he being nice?" asked Tonks suspiciously.

**Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.**

**"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine- platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" **

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.**

**"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing.**

"OI!" cried Sirius.

"They shouldn't leave a child," Molly fretted.

"Jerks," muttered the teens.

**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to stop to ask someone.**

Everyone groaned at the sheepishly smiling Harry.

**He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering something about time wasters.**

"That went well!" said George brightly.

**According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.**

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platform nine and ten.**

"Don't tell me you did," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.  
"Not exactly," said Harry, grinning at Ron.

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"-packed with Muggles, of course-"**

"Excellent," said Sirius in relief. "Someone to help you."

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair.**

"US!" shouted the twins.

"No, it's obviously some other red headed family," said Ginny mockingly.

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him- and they had an ****_owl._**

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.**

**"Now, what's the platform number?"**

**"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go…"**

Ginny blushed red, remembering the fan-girl she had been when she had been ten.

**"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. Al right, Percy, you go first."**

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it- but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.**

"Smooth," commented Remus. Percy blushed.

**"Fred, you next," the plump woman said. **

**"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you ****_tell _****I'm George?"**

**"Sorry, George, dear."**

**"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went.**

"Boys," said Molly, exasperated, while they high-fived.

**His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone- but how had he done it?  
**Ginny pointed her wand at the twins, who had been about to say 'Magic!' but quailed at the sight of their sister.

**Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier- he was almost there- and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.**

**There was nothing else for it.**

**"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman.**

"So polite," said Molly with a fond smile.

**"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.**

Everyone burst out laughing, and Ron's ears turned red. "You just wait for your descriptions," he warned. That quieted everyone quite a bit.

**"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is- the thing is, I don't know how to-"**

**"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.**

**"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."**

**"Er- okay," said Harry.**

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.**

The twins snickered.

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into the barrier and then he'd be in trouble- leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run- the barrier was coming nearer and nearer- he wouldn't be able to stop- the cart was out of control- he was a foot away- he closed his eyes ready for the crash-**

"You really should try to be more optimistic," said Tonks, smiling.

"Harry, optimistic?" Ron snorted.  
"Thanks, mate," muttered Harry.

**It didn't come… he kept running… he opened his eyes.**

**A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words ****_Platform Nine and Three-Quarters _****on it. He had done it.**

The twins cheered loudly, and Dumbledore smiled.

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. **

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."**

"Neville," chorused his friends.

**"Oh, ****_Neville,_****" he heard the old woman sigh.  
A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.  
"Give us a look, Lee, go on."**

"Good ol' Lee," sighed the twins.

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.**

Ron shuddered.

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.**

Everyone winced.

"James did that every year until seventh," Remus said.

"He was a bit of a scrawny git," said Sirius fondly.

"Sounds like someone we know," chorused the twins and Ron. They all looked at Harry.

"OI!"

**"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.**

"The twins?" asked Charlie.  
"Offering help?" said Bill.

"Without pranking someone?" said Ron.

"Weird!" finished Ginny.

"Hey, that's our thing!" said the twins.

Percy smiled, then dropped it quickly, sitting up straighter. _I am a ministry official,_ he thought to himself. _I have no time to mess around with my immature siblings._

**"Yes, please," Harry panted.**

**"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"**

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.**

**"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.**

**"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.**

"Boys," said Molly reprovingly.

**"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you-"**

**"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.**

**"What?" said Harry.**

**"****_Harry Potter,_****" chorused the twins.**

**"Oh, him," said Harry.**

Everyone laughed as the boy-who-lived blushed. "Forgot your name, did you, Harry?" teased Tonks.

**"I mean, yes, I am.**

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating through the train's open door.**

**"Fred? George? Are you there?"**

**"Coming, Mom."  
With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped of the train.**

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.**

"You heard that?" asked Mrs. Weasley worriedly. Harry nodded sheepishly while Ginny groaned.

"Eavesdropping? Bad Harry," scolded Fred.

**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.**

**"Ron, you've got something on your nose."**

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.**

The twins snickered and Ron glared at them.

**"****_Mom_****- geroff." He wriggled free.**

**"Aa, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.**

Fred and George high-fived.

**"Shut up," said Ron.**

**"Where's Percy?" said their mother.**

The twins immediately turned solemn and glared at their older brother.

**"He's coming now."  
**"Unfortunately," whispered George in a carrying voice. Percy couldn't help feeling slightly hurt, though he couldn't blame them.  
**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter ****_P _****on it.**

"For prick," said Fred knowingly.

"Fred," said Molly in a soft voice.

**"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves-"  
"Oh, are you a ****_prefect_****, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."  
"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-"  
"Or twice-"  
"A minute-"  
"All summer-"**

There was an outbreak of laughter. "Sounds like James and Sirius," Remus muttered.

**"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.  
"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.  
"Because he's a ****_prefect_****," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term- send me an owl when you get there."  
She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left.**

Molly sat up straighter, tears brimming in her eyes. Oh, how she wished Percy would just come back to the family. Watching her children fight broke her heart, especially over the _Ministry. _Why couldn't they all just apologize?

Arthur put an arm around Molly comfortingly. "It's alright, Molly, dear," he said. "Everything will be alright."

All of the Weasleys glared at Percy, who looked down. "Git," Fred shot at him.

"Oh, Fred, don't!" wailed Mrs. Weasley. The Weasleys shifted their eyes, glaring instead at the ground and chairs.

Percy bit his lip. He felt unbelievingly bad. How could he sit here while his mother cried over him? He had only said those things to his father in a fit of rage, he didn't actually mean them, but he doubted he could do anything now. The damage was done, and his family now hated him.

After a minute Ginny started reading rather awkwardly.

**Then she turned to the twins.**

**"Now, you two- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or-"**

"Bad move, Molly," said Sirius, shaking his head. "_Never _give a prankster ideas. Ain't that right, Moony?"

Remus scowled at him.

**"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."  
"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."**

**"It's ****_not funny._**** And look after Ron."**

"Mom," groaned Ron.

**"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."**

**"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.**

"Don't mention it," muttered Ron.

**"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"**

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.**

"Good idea," nodded Sirius.

**"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"**

**"Who?"**

**_"Harry Potter!_****"**

"Thanks," muttered Harry.  
**Harry heard the little girl's voice.**

**"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, oh please…"  
**Ginny buried her face in her arms. "I- was- so- _stupid._"

Harry grinned. She was so cute when she blushed. Then he frowned. _Where did that come from…?_

**"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"**

**"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there- like lightning."**

Several eyes turned to look at the scar almost unconsciously. Harry flattened his bangs over it, felling his cheeks heat up.

**"Poor ****_dear-_**** no wonder he was alone, I wondered He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."**

"He's always very polite," smiled Mrs. Weasley.

**"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"**

"I know now," said Harry with a sigh. Sirius and Remus exchanged sad looks.

**Their mother suddenly became very stern.**

**"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."  
**"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

"Of course dear."

**"All right, keep your hair on."**

"Fred!"

**A whistle sounded.  
"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.**

"Merlin," muttered Ginny.  
"I thought it was cute," said Harry without thinking.  
"Er- thanks, Harry," said Ginny, blushing.

Mrs. Weasley smiled broadly. She was hoping that Harry and her daughter got together, they would be perfect for each other. Ron raised an eyebrow at Harry, who turned red.

**"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."  
"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."**

"I never got that," said Ginny, still blushing slightly.  
"It went to a more noble cause," said George, winking at Harry. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

**"****_George!"_**

**"Only joking, Mom."  
The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.**

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to- but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.**

Everyone frowned. "It was," said Harry with a broad smile. "Much better."

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy came in.**

**"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."**

"Riiiiiiight," said Charlie.

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.**

"Ugh!" groaned Ron.

**"Hey, Ron."**

**The twins were back.**

"YES!" yelled the twins. "The story just got five times better!"

**"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."**

**"Right," mumbled Ron.  
"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."**

**"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.**

**"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.**

"Ron," sighed Hermione.

**Harry nodded.  
"Oh- well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got- you know…"**

**He pointed at Harry's forehead.  
Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.  
"So that's where You-Know-Who-"  
"yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."**

**"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.**

"Ronald!" said Molly. "I told you not to!"

"Actually, you told the twins," said Ron hopefully.

"I meant you as well," said Molly, exasperated.

"I don't mind, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

**"Well- I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."  
"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he quickly looked out of the window again.**

"Sorry, mate," said Ron.

**"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.**

"Really?" asked Ron, surprised.

"You were one of the first wizards I'd met," pointed out Harry.

**"Er- yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"Why?" asked Tonks.

Molly sighed. "Jerry's a squib. He's pretty bitter about 't talk to any of us," she said sadly.

**"So you must know loads of magic already."**

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.**

"Not quite," said Bill.

"Fortunately," added Charlie.

**"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"**

"Horrid," said everyone together, even Percy. The Weasley siblings glanced at him suspiciously. He blushed.

**"Horrible- well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."**

**"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy.**

"Why?" asked Bill, confused.  
"We're awesome!" added the twins.

Ron went red as he remembered what he had felt back then, and he looked down. His family watched him worriedly- even Percy.

**"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left- Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first.**

"Ron, is that really how you feel?" asked Molly sadly. She was horrified. How had she not noticed her youngest son felt like that? Maybe if she stopped comparing him to his brothers…

"Not anymore," he muttered, barely audible.

Bill and Charlie exchanged looks. They hadn't known that Ron felt this way. Maybe they could have done a bit more to appreciate him.

The twins looked at each other guiltily. They knew they were mostly to blame for Ron's feelings. Percy and him were their favorite targets for teasing, and since Ron was around more, they focused on him. Maybe if they had lightened up on him, he wouldn't be feeling this way. Was it possible that they sometimes took their teasing and pranking a bit too far sometimes?

Percy felt horrible, but he didn't say anything. He didn't like how his youngest brother was feeling, and recalled yet again how bad he felt for what he had done to his family.

"We'll talk more about this when the chapter ends, Ron," said Arthur, sighing heavily.

**You never get anything new, either with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."**

"I'm sorry, Ron," said Arthur. He knew he could get a better job that paid more, but he loved his job.

"It's alright, Dad. You love your job, that's what matters. Besides, I have a new wand now."

Percy shifted uncomfortably yet again.

**Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.**

Sirius and Remus growled while Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked murderous.  
"What is it?" asked Fred.  
"Just read," said Sirius through gritted teeth.

**"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."**

The Weasleys looked uncomfortable, but no one said anything.

**Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.**

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl.  
**"There isn't," he added. Ginny smiled at him.  
**After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.**

"Ronald!" scolded not Molly, but Hermione.

"I was just happy that I still had a chance to be friends with the boy-who-lived," said Ron defensively.

"Still," she said crossly.  
**"…and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or **

Ginny stopped, then took a deep breath.

**V-Voldemort-"**

There were gasps throughout the room. Harry smiled at Ginny. "That wasn't that hard," she said surprisingly. "Voldemort!" she said, stronger.

"Ginny," whispered Molly, horrified.

"Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself," said Harry.

"Precisely," said Dumbledore, smiling. "Excellent job, Miss Weasley, excellent indeed."

"Thanks," she said, grinning broadly.

**Ron gasped.  
"What?" said Harry.  
****_"You said You-Know-Who's name!_****" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people-"**

**"I'm not trying to be ****_brave _****or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."**

"Not true," said Hermione. "You're one of the top."

"No, you are," said Harry.  
"You beat me in DADA every time we had a competent teacher," she said coolly. "And you're always in the top ten."

"Wow," muttered Harry.

"Now, if you applied yourself more-"

"Read, Ginny."  
**"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."**

*cough-Hermione-cough* said Ron and Harry. The muggle-born witch just grinned at them fondly.

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. **

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"  
Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.**

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys,**

Sirius tossed Harry a galleon. "When we get out of here, you're buying candy."  
Harry smiled at his godfather.

**and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry-**

"Marsebars?" asked Arthur.

"Mars Bars, a Muggle chocolate. One of my favorites," said Tonks, whose father was muggle-born.

**but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had ever seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.**

"That's a lot of candy," whistled Fred in amusement.

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.**

**"Hungry, are you?"  
"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.**

"You'd better share," warned Hermione.  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, _Mum._"

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."**

"But it's your favorite," said Molly, confused.

"That's my favorite, Mum," said Charlie.

"I like ham," said Ron.

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," said Molly sadly. "I'll make those next time."

"It's fine," Ron muttered. His family glanced at each other again.

**"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on-"**

**"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got that much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."**

"Sorry, Mum," said Ron quickly.  
"You're the best cook, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry. Molly smiled.  
"Thank you, dear. It's alright, Ron."  
**"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with.**

"Oh?" asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow.  
"Dudley," muttered Harry.  
**It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).**

"And that's why they're best friends," said George.  
"The way to Ron's heart is through his stomach," nodded Fred. "Remember that, Hermione."  
Hermione and Ron turned red and started spluttering, which was ignored.

**"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not ****_really _****frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.  
"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."  
"What?"  
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know- Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect- famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." **

"I've got seventeen Agrippa's and twenty-three Ptolemy's," said Remus.  
Everyone looked at him in shock.  
"That's cause he's a chocolate addict," added Sirius. "Always has been."  
"Not true," muttered Remus while everyone snickered.

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.**

Everyone glanced at the professor who just hummed pleasantly.

**"So ****_this _****is Dumbledore!" said Harry.**

**"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron.**

"Raised by Muggles, Ron," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.  
**"Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa- thanks-"  
Harry turned over his card and read:**

**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE  
Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts**

**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times,  
Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the  
dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the  
twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy  
with his partner, Nicholas Flamel.**

The trio let out a huge groan and Ron laid his head on his arms.

"What?" asked Tonks.  
"You'll find out," said Harry.

**Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.**

The professor got several odd looks. He smiled at them. "I do love being on chocolate frog cards," he said bemusedly.

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.  
"He's gone!"**

"Well you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Charlie.  
**"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron.**

The brothers glanced at each other awkwardly.

**"He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? Wou can start collecting."  
Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.  
**Ginny rolled her eyes before continuing.

**"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."**

"Weird!" chorused the pure-bloods.

**"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "****_Weird!"_**

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card an gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliona, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.**

**"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they ****_mean _****every flavor- you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe.**

Tonks shivered.

**George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."**

"I did!" said the twin, shuddering. "It was horrible."  
**"Bleaaargh- see? Sprouts?"**

"That's not too bad," said Sirius. "I got a vomit flavored one once. Never looked at those things the same again."

**They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.**

"Wow, not a bad selection," said Bill. "Lucky."

**The countryside now flying past the window was become wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. **

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.  
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"  
When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"  
"He'll turn up," said Harry.**

"You're so nice," said Tonks.  
"He is," said almost everyone else. Harry blushed.

**"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…"  
He left.  
"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."  
The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.**

"Slimy bastard," muttered Sirius. Luckily, Molly didn't hear him, but those who did looked horribly confused.

**He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust.  
**"Yes!" cheered Sirius.  
"Er… it's a rat, Sirius," said George.  
"Oh, I know," he said, glancing away.  
**"I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"  
**The twins doubled over in laughter.

"You-fell-for-that?" wheezed George.  
"Shut it," muttered Ron, turning red.

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.  
"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway-"**

"That's dangerous," said McGonagall. Molly frowned.

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.**

"Hermione, right? A bit eager, don't you think?" asked Fred.

**"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

Hermione leaned over and punched Harry in the arm. "Ouch! I didn't write this!"  
"I know," she said, leaning back, "but I had to hit someone, and it's from your point of view."  
**"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.  
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."**

**She sat down.**

"I was eager," muttered Hermione at the looks she was getting.

**Ron looked taken aback.  
"Er- all right."  
He cleared his throat.**

**_"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,  
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."_**

Everyone burst out laughing. The twins fell to the floor.

"I should have known better than to trust him," muttered Ron.

Once everyone had calmed down, Ginny began to read again.  
**He waved his wand, but nothing happened.**

"Noooo," said Tonks sarcastically.

**Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.**

"Is he dead?" asked Sirius hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no," muttered Ron.

**"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard- I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough- I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"**

**She said all this very fast.**

"Merlin, Hermione," panted Ginny, who had done it all in one breath. "How… do you… talk like… that?"

"All the course books by heart?" asked Sirius, horrified.

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.**

"Good," nodded Sirius.

**"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.**

**"Harry Potter," said Harry.  
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in ****_Modern Magical History _****and ****_The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _****and ****_Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century._****"**

"Remind me never to read those," muttered Harry. Ron grinned.  
"I know what you're birthday present is going to be!"  
"Ron!"

**"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.  
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it,**

"I was," said Dumbledore.  
**but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."**

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.**

"Er… Hermione? Have you always been so… talkative?" asked George.  
"Oh, be quiet," she said.

**"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**

"_Ronald!_" said Hermione.  
"Sorry, 'Mione!" said Ron quickly. "You know I don't think that anymore."  
"Still," she muttered dangerously.  
Ron glanced at Harry nervously.

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell- George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."  
"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.  
"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling in on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not.**

"It wouldn't matter, Ron," said Molly while Arthur nodded.  
"We wouldn't care, either," said Charlie.

**I don't suppose Ravenclaw ****_would _****be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."**

"We'd disown you."  
"FRED!"

**"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"  
"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.  
"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses.**

Ginny smiled. Harry was so _perfect. _He was kind, and sweet, and funny, and thoughtful, and cute… She felt a blush settle into her cheeks and quickly kept reading.

**"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"  
Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.**

**"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron.**

"Cursebreaker," added Bill.

"We know, Bill," said everyone.

**"Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the ****_Daily Prophet,_**** but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles- someone tried to rob a high security vault."**

The trio exchanged a glance as Charlie gasped. "Really?" he asked, as he had been in Romania at the time.

**Harry stared.  
"Really? What happened to them?"  
"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens like this in case You-Know-Who's behind it."**

Another glance was exchanged.

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.**

Ginny joined Harry in rolling his eyes as everyone flinched.

**"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.**

**"Er- I don't know any," Harry confessed.  
"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded.**

"Muggles, Ron!"  
"I get it!"  
**"Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world-" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.  
Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. **

Everyone groaned. "Malfoy," muttered George darkly.

**He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.**

"Of course he is, he knows who you are now," said Sirius, scowling.

**"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"  
**"No, it's obviously the red-haired one," said Tonks, rolling her eyes.

**"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.**

"That's all they are," said Ron. "He hasn't got any real friends."

"It was the same with Lucius," nodded Sirius.

**"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." **

"Bond, James Bond," said Hermione. Harry and Tonks snorted.  
"Huh?" asked the majority of the room.

"Muggle movie," said Hermione.

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.**

**"Think my name's funny, do you?**

"Yes," said Fred.

**No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."**

"OI!" shouted George. Nearly everyone in the room was red with anger. Even McGonagall looked angry at the student. The back of Percy's neck was prickling, and he was surprised to find he was angry by this statement against his family.

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."**

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.**

"Go Prongslet!" cheered Sirius.

"Sirius," warned Harry.

**"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.**

"Take that, Malfoy!" said Charlie.  
**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale**

"Because everyone knows the all-important Malfoys do not blush," said Tonks in a snooty voice, changing her appearance to match Narcissa's. Everyone laughed, but Sirius cringed.  
"Please, change back."

**"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either.**

"He didn't!" cried Ginny. If everyone was mad before, it was nothing compared to now. "That-"  
"Ginevra!" cried Molly.  
"I'll have to have a _talk _with Professor Snape about his students," said McGonagall coolly. Dumbledore simply shot her a wink.

Remus and Sirius glared at the book.

**You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."**

The tension in the room was thick, but everyone was surprised when George snorted. "Riffraff…" he muttered. "Who says 'riffraff'?"

**Both Harry and Ron stood up.**

"Oh, don't fight," moaned Molly.  
**"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.  
"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.  
**"They better not," said Mrs. Weasley.  
**"Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.  
"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some more."**

"Gits," muttered Bill.  
**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron- Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.**

"What happened?" asked Tonks eagerly.

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle-**

"Really?" asked Sirius in surprise. "Rat's good for one thing."

**Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window,**

"Okay, now is he dead?" asked Sirius.

**all three of them disappeared at once.**

"Cowards," said Tonks.

**Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.  
"What ****_has _****been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.  
"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No- I don't believe it- he's gone back to sleep."**

**And so he had.**

Most of the room laughed. "Lazy git," muttered Sirius darkly.

**"You've met Malfoy before?"**

"Unfortunately.  
**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.  
"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"**

"I wanted to start over," said Hermione softly, so only Harry and Ron could hear her. "I really wanted to be your friends; but I guess I didn't do the best job, did I?"  
Ron put an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into him. Harry grinned at his best friends.

**"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"  
"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"  
"All right- I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice.**

"I do not have a sniffy voice!" objected Hermione.

**"And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

"Merlin! Stop mentioning it!"

**Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train seemed to be slowing down.**

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.**

Ron blushed.

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."**

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.  
The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"**

"Oh, a mention from Hagrid, now you're really famous!" said Fred.

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.  
"C'mon, follow me- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"  
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.**

"Neville," said Ginny fondly again.

Harry frowned and looked away. He didn't like the way Ginny said Neville's name. She couldn't _like _him, could she? And if she did, why did he care? It was all so confusing!

Hermione noticed Harry's look and nudged Ginny, who glanced over at Harry too and stifled a snort.

**"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."  
There was a loud "Ooooh!"**

"It is spectacular," said Dumbledore.

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.**

"Wow," said Hermione. "It sounds so beautiful…"  
"Er, Hermione, you've seen it…" said Ron awkwardly.  
"Oh, shut up."  
**"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.  
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then- FORWARD!"  
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.  
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face.**

Remus and Sirius snickered. "What?" asked Tonks.

"James didn't hear that order," said Sirius with a smile.

"Bonked his head, fell into the water, and brought me, Sirius, and Pettigrew with him," said Remus. "Hagrid had to fish us out."  
"Pettigrew nearly drowned," Sirius laughed.

**They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.**

**"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.**

"Oh, good, he found him," sighed Molly.**  
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.  
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.**

**"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"  
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"That's the end of the chapter," said Ginny, marking her place.

"Dramatic," nodded Fred approvingly.  
"Okay, Weasley family meeting," said Arthur, standing up. "Every Weasley, follow me." He led the way over to a door and peeked in, seeing that it held a table and a few sofas. That would do nicely as a meeting room. He opened the door and his family filed in. He felt a pang in his heart when he saw Percy still sitting resolutely on the couch, nose turned away from his family. Arthur hesitated for only a second before going in after his family.

* * *

**A/N: Whew! Another chapter done! Hope everyone liked it, I'm enjoying writing about the budding romance between the different characters. Most things will be canon, but there are a few that I think ****_should _****happen but don't in the books… grrr.**

**Next chapter should be up soon! Please review, it helps me remember why I write this in the first place, and I love to hear from all of you!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Xoxo,  
Kayla**


	8. The Sorting Hat

**Chapter 7: The Sorting Hat**

Once the Weasleys had settled into the meeting room, Arthur cleared his throat. "Now, as we were reading this book, we discovered something that none of us knew about Ron." He turned to the beet red boy. "Ron," he said in a softer tone, "why didn't you tell anyone you felt this way?"

"Dunno," muttered Ron.

"You're not just another Weasley, Ron," said Charlie. "You've done loads more stuff than any of us."

"Yes, and even though I don't approve of most of it-" Molly paused. "It was all extremely brave, and I'm so very proud of you." She gave him a huge smile and wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. He patted her back awkwardly.

"Sorry for all the pranking we do," said the twins. "We target you more than we should."

"It's fine," said Ron. "Really. I'm over it by now. I realized that we are all our own people, and make our own choices. I'm not defined by who my brothers are. Though," he said with a grin, "if you could lay off the teasing just a bit…"

"Nah," said George, throwing an arm over his brother's shoulder. "You can't stop us from teasing you! That's what we're here for! And this book is going to give us a lot of dirt on you and Harry…"

Ron laughed as George steered him out of the room, followed by the rest of the family.

Outside, everyone was making small talk. Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking while Remus, Sirius and Tonks huddled on a different couch. Percy was still sitting there being a git, while Harry and Hermione sat very close together, heads almost touching, whispering about something as though they didn't want anyone to hear.

Ron frowned when he saw this, and went over to them. They looked up and immediately parted. "Hey," said Harry. "How'd it go?"

"Fine," said Ron shortly, sitting down slightly apart from them. _Don't want to interrupt whatever they're doing, _he thought bitterly.

Hermione frowned. "Is something wrong, Ron?"

"No, everything's just peachy. Ready to read?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged worried glances. What was up with Ron?

"I'll read," said Bill, taking the book.

**Chapter 7: The Sorting**

"Awesome," said Sirius with a smile.

Harry, however, paled when he realized they were going to find out he was nearly sorted into Slytherin. What would everyone say?

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.**

McGonagall looked rather pleased at this comment.

**"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.**

**"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."  
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.**

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right- the rest of the school must already be here- but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded rather closely together than they usually would have done, peering about nervously.**

"It is rather nerve-racking," commented Remus.

**"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.**

**The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.**

**"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."**

"Do you always say the same speech?" asked Sirius, surprised. "You said that to us, and in our fifth year."

"And how would you know?" McGonagall asked suspiciously.

"Er- well, we might have been under the invisibility cloak…" muttered Sirius.

McGonagall glared sternly at him.

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear,**

"How…?" asked Fred, confused.

**and on Ron's smudged nose.**

"ARGH!"

**Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.**

Everyone snorted.

**"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."**

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed.**

**"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron.**

**"Some sort of tests, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**

"FRED!"

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet- what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they had arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and which one she'd need.**

Many amused glances were shot at the muggle-born.

**Harry tried hard not to listen to her.**

"It was making me nervous," defended Harry as Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

**He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue.**

The twins high-fived Harry.

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom. **

"Overdramatic much?" asked Tonks.

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air- several people behind him screamed.**

"Ghosts," said Tonks, Bill, Charlie, Remus, and Sirius together.

**"What the-"  
He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall.**

"Knew it. They do it every year," said Tonks.

**Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"**

"Peeves again?" asked Remus, amused.

"Ah… Peeves," said Sirius fondly. "I miss him."

**"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost- I say, what are you all doing here?"**

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.**

"They knew they were there," said Charlie. "The ghosts do it to make an impression, Nick told me."

**Nobody answered.  
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be sorted, I suppose?"**

"No," said George sarcastically.

**A few people nodded mutely.**

**"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."  
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."  
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall**

**"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." **

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair,**

"That was Seamus," said Harry.

**with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.**

**Harry had never imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets.**

"The descriptions in this book are beautiful," sighed Ginny and Hermione.

** At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in ****_Hogwarts, A History._****"**

Sirius snorted. "That brings the number of people who have read it up to three: you, Remus, and Lily."

"I thought James read it," said Remus, and many people looked at him in disbelief.

"He tried to, for Lily," Sirius said. "He got through the first page. Farther than I got," he added, "First paragraph was a bore."

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open up to the heavens.**

The girls sighed again, and Ron and Harry glanced at each other, slightly worried.

**Harry quickly looked down as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.**

Fred and George glanced at each other mischievously.  
"No," said Molly immediately.

"What did we do?"  
"You are not stealing the sorting hat and putting it in Harry's house."  
The twins pouted. "No fun," they muttered.

**_Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it,_**** Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing-**

Ron snorted. "Why on earth would you do that?"  
"It's a Muggle magic trick," supplied Hermione. Arthur's jaw dropped.

"Muggle's have magic?" he asked in bewilderment. "They can pull rabbits out of hats?"  
"No, Mr. Weasley," laughed Harry. "They don't have magic. It's all illusions, made to look like magic. Magic _tricks._"  
"_Really?_" said Mr. Weasley, obviously excited. "Now, these eelusions-"  
"Read, Bill," sighed Molly.

**noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth- and the hat began to sing:**

"Come on, Bill, sing!" said the twins.

"No," said their brother. "I am not singing."  
"No one is any fun!" they cried.

**_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_**

"No, we don't," said Fred.

"No interrupting the song!" snapped Bill.

**_But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find,  
A smarter hat than me._**

The twins glanced at each other and nodded. _Mission accepted._

**_You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
_**Sirius laughed. "I get it! It's a hat, and it can _cap _them all… Sorry, read."  
**_There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.  
You might belong in Gryffindor _**(*cheers*)  
**_Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry,  
Set Gryffindors apart.  
You might belong in Hufflepuff _**("YEAH!")  
**_Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning,  
Will always find their kid;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin _**(*Boos*)  
**_You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_**

"Nice song," commented Sirius. "Ours were all dark, about death and banding together…"  
"We were in a war, Sirius," said Remus.

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still  
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."**

"Frederick!" scolded Mrs. Weasley. "Don't tell your brother's those things! No wonder he feels the way he does!"  
"Relax, Mrs. Weasley," said Tonks. "They aren't going to fight a troll in their first year."  
The trio glanced at each other with grins.

**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching.**

"Me too," admitted Charlie.

**The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of It at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for the people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him.**

"I'm sure that's where everyone would go," chuckled Dumbledore.

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.**

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"**

**A pick-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause-  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.**

"YEAH!" yelled Tonks, jumping up and fist-pumping the air.  
**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.  
"Bones, Susan!"  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"**

"Oh yeah!" cheered Tonks, her hair turning a bright pink.

**shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.**

**"Boot, Terry!"  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.**

**"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender"**

"Don't like her," muttered Hermione.

**became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers;**

The room also went up in cheers, and even Tonks clapped a little.

**Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.**

As they repeated now.  
"Boys," said Molly, exasperated.  
**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.**

"BOO!"  
**Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot.**

"They are, Harry, they are," nodded George.  
"I'm sure there are a few that are alright," defended Hermione.

The twins stared at her blankly, then said, "No, not really."

**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him.**

Ginny growled, and Harry looked at her apprehensively. "I'm going to murder that fat lump," she hissed under her breath.

**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"**

**"HUFFLEPUFF!"**

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in line, sat on the stool for almost a minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

**"Granger, Hermione!"**

"Oooooo, I wonder what she's going to get," said Fred eagerly.

Everyone stared at him.

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly onto her head.**

Hermione blushed slightly.

**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned.**

"Ronald!" Hermione snapped.

"I said I was sorry for all of this!"

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous.**

"Especially if your name is Harry Potter," added Ron.

**What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train?**

"Highly impossible," said Dumbledore in an amused voice. "We never make a mistake with the distribution of letters."

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool.**

"Pettigrew did that too," said Remus.

**The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."**

Everyone snickered despite themselves.

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**

"Schocker," muttered Sirius.

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.**

**There weren't many people left now.**

**"Moon"…"Nott"…."Parkinson"…then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"…. Then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… and then at last-**

**"Potter, Harry!"**

"Finally!" said Charlie.

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.**

**_"Potter, _****did she say?"**

**_"The _****Harry Potter?"**

"That would get rather annoying," Bill admitted.  
"No kidding," muttered Harry.

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.**

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Maybe the hat would just skip over the conversation he had had with the hat, but knowing his luck, it would all be in there. He wished he could just leave the room. He didn't want to see everyone's reactions when they found out he was nearly a Slytherin. Would they all hate him? Be disgusted?

"What's wrong, Harry?" asked Hermione, looking concerned.

"Nothing," he said. "Just… keep reading."

Bill frowned but turned back to the book a bit apprehensively.

**"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult.**

Everyone looked surprised. "No, it's not," said Sirius. "He's a Gryffindor. Put him in Gryffindor!"

"Sirius, I'm already in Gryffindor."  
"Shhh, Harry, you'll spoil the book."

**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes- and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?"**

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted Sirius, Bill, Charlie, Tonks, and the twins. Remus winced because of his werewolf hearing.

"Stop shouting," he said crossly.

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, ****_Not Slytherin, not Slytherin._**

"You're asking the hat not to put you somewhere," said Tonks in surprise.

"Yeah," muttered Harry.

Sirius looked at his godson, a little worried.

**"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness, no doubt about that-**

Everyone looked at Harry, shocked. Harry turned away so he wouldn't have to see the disgust in their faces.

"Blimey, mate," said Ron weakly. "You were nearly a Slytherin."

"I know," Harry mumbled.

Sirius didn't say anything. He didn't have anything _to _say at the moment. He was slightly shocked that his godson had almost been placed in _Slytherin_, but that didn't change anything.

"But he wasn't," Ginny said after a moment of silence. "He asked the hat _not _to put him in Slytherin, and that made all the difference. By asking not to be put there, he proved he wasn't one of them, and that he was indeed a Gryffindor through and through. And he has already proved the hat's final choice right many times."

Harry looked up at her, shocked and grateful. She smiled lightly back at him.

"Miss Weasley is right," said Dumbledore. "Harry has many attributes to fit every house, and could have been placed in any of them, just like the best of us. Everyone has characteristics that fit every house, the sorting hat just looks at what shines through the most. The Sorting Hat considered putting me in Slytherin, too," he revealed, "for my cunning. But it chose Gryffindor, and that made all the difference. Although every house is a fine house," he added.

"They're right, Harry," said Sirius. Harry turned to look at his godfather, frowning slightly. "It doesn't matter!" he said with a grin.

Harry sat silent for a moment before speaking. "Thanks, everyone," he said. "Bill, can you keep reading?"

Bill shot a smile at him before turning back to the book.

**no? Well, if you're sure- better be GRYFFINDOR!"**

"YES!" cheered most of the inhabitants of the room. Harry couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect**

"Ugh, don't call him that, Harry," said Fred, rolling his eyes.

"His ego's big enough," finished George in the same tone.

Percy scowled at them.

**got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled "We got Potter! We got Potter!"**

"We got Potter! We got-"

"Boys, please!"

**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of cold ice water.**

Tonks shivered. "I _hate _when they do that!"

Remus laughed. "Sirius was trying to open a door once, and the Bloody Baron glided through. He was shivering all day."

Everyone else laughed while Sirius scowled. "That sucked," he muttered.

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts.**

Dumbledore chuckled. "I didn't realize it was that bright," he mused.

**Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.**

The trio exchanged dark glances.

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"  
**Ron blushed as everyone cheered.

**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him. **

**"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.**

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago.**

"I know what you mean," groaned Sirius and Ron together. They glanced at each other, bemused.

"That is so weird," muttered Harry.

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.**

"Nothing ever does," smiled Dumbledore.

**"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!**

"I love your speeches, sir," said Fred.

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. I try very hard," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.

**"Thank you!"**

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.**

**"Is he- a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.**

"The best of us are," said Dumbledore.

**"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world!**

"Well, that opinion sure changed," said Fred.

"Yes, now he's 'utterly crazy to believe the foolish tales of the mad Harry Potter'," added George.

"Imagine, abandoning your own family for the stupid ministry," said Fred, shaking his head solemnly.

"Who would do such a horrible thing?" asked George in mock-amazement.

"Oh yeah. Percy!" they said together, glaring at their older brother.

Percy abruptly stood up, turned around and stalked into the meeting room, slamming the door behind him.

There was a shocked silence once Percy had gone. The twins glanced at each other, not at all sorry. That prat had their mom _crying _over him, yet he doesn't say sorry. They weren't ready to forgive until he did.

"Boys," scolded Molly softly. She stood up as if to follow her son into the room, but Arthur stopped her.

"We'll talk to him after the chapter," he said heavily. "We need to let him cool down."

Molly hesitated, then sat back down, defeated, and Bill began to read again.

**But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"**

**Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.**

"I request those," Dumbledore said happily.

"Why mention the ketchup?" asked Remus. Harry shrugged.

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry,**

"Could have fooled me," muttered Sirius angrily.

**but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked.**

Ron and Hermione tensed almost protectively, and Harry glanced at them, amused.

**Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick.**

"Fat git," muttered Ginny.

**Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat.**

Dumbledore frowned slightly.

**It was all delicious.  
"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak.**

**"Can't you-?"  
"I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. **

"And that's why Ron won't be a ghost," said Harry with a smile.

"Hey, I- that's true," admitted Ron.

**I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."**

**"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you- you're Nearly Headless Nick!"**

**"I would ****_prefer _****you to call me Sir Nickolas de Mimsy-" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.**

**_"Nearly _****headless? How can you be ****_nearly _****headless?"**

Sirius groaned. "He _loves _to show off."

**"Like ****_this_****," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces,**

"See?" said Sirius.

**Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So- new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the championship this year?**

The twins and the trio grinned at each other.

**Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row!**

"Merlin!" said Bill, aghast. "That's humiliating!"

**The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable- he's the Slytherin ghost."**

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.**

"Excellent!" cheered Tonks.

**"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.**

"I wish I knew," said George.

"I'll bet Harry finds out by the end of the series," said Fred.

"Seven Galleons?"  
"You're on."

"Must you always bet?" sighed Molly.

"Yup," said the twins.

**"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.**

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding…**

Ron groaned. "I'm hungry."

"What else is new?" muttered Hermione.

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families.**

**"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

Dumbledore frowned deeply. "That's not smart," said Bill. "His dad could have not taken it well." Everyone else nodded.

**The others laughed.  
"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.**

**"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me- he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier pnce, I nearly drowned-**

Everyone gasped. "That's horrible!" said Molly.

**but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go.**

"I'll have to have a talk with his grandmother," said McGonagall quietly.

**But I bounced- all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here- they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bout me my toad."**

"Great gift," muttered Sirius.

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons**

"Surprise!" said the twins. Hermione glared at them.

**("I ****_do _****hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course it's supposed to be very difficult-"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing-").**

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.**

The twins screamed and fell out of their chairs. "Not Snape, the evil git!"

"Boys! He is your professor," scolded Molly.

**It happened very suddenly.**

"What did?"

"Let me read, Charlie."

**The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes- and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead.**

"What?" asked Sirius, alarmed. Harry and Ron exchanged glances.

**"Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head.**

**"What is it?" asked Percy.  
"N-nothing."**

"Now, Harry-kins-"

"Lying is a very bad habit," said Fred, waggling his finger.

"You would know," muttered Ginny.

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look- a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all.**

Harry snorted. "Understatement," he said under his breath.

**"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy.**

**"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to- everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the dark arts, Snape."**

"Does he now," muttered Sirius, his eyes narrowing with dislike.

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again.**

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.**

**"Ahem- just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered.**

"What are they, horses?" asked Tonks.

**I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.**

**"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."  
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**

"Why?" asked Molly suspiciously.

"Read on, Bill!"

**"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.**

"No one ever listens to that rule."

**"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.**

**"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."**

"Er- that's new," said Sirius, and everyone who did not know what was behind it voiced their confused questions.

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.**

**"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.**

"No- I am!" joked Sirius. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Sirius, that joke was old the second time you used it."

**"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere- the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."**

Everyone just rolled their eyes.

**"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.**

"Very observant," muttered McGonagall, turning red.

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.**

**"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"**

"Sing, Bill!"

"No."

**And the school bellowed:**

The twins sang as Bill read.

**_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot."_**

The twins finished the song at a slow funeral march and bowed to the applause they received.

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.**

**"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime! Off you trot!"**

"Again with the horse references," mused Tonks.

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.**

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.**

"Peeves," said the entire room.

**"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice. "Peeves- show yourself."**

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.**

**"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"**

"No, don't play that card so early," moaned George.

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.**

**"Oooooooh," he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"**

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.**

**"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.**

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head.**

"It's always Neville," sighed Tonks.

**They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.**

**"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects.**

"Heaven forbid," gasped George.

**Here we are."**

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.**

**"Password?" she said.**

**"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it- Neville needed a leg up- and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

"Sounds nice," noted Tonks.

"It is," said the Gryffindors together.  
**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase- they were obviously in one of the towers- they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.**

**"Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get ****_off_****, Scabbers! He's chwing my sheets."**

Ron made a look of disgust that was mirrored by Harry.

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once.**

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream.**

"Nah, you always have strange dreams."  
"Thanks, Ron."  
"No problem, mate."

**He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny.**

"Ooooookay…"

**Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully- and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it- then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold- there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.**

There was a stunned silence. "Wow, Harry," said Charlie. "You have really strange dreams."

"I don't remember that…" said Harry, frowning.

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke the next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.**

"Oh."  
"That's the end of the chapter," said Bill.

Everyone glanced at the closed door of the meeting room. With a sigh, Arthur got up. "I'll go check on him," he said heavily.

"Good luck," muttered everyone as he slipped through the door.

* * *

**A/N: Alright, that was chapter seven? Did everyone like it?**

**Thanks for reading! Up next: Arthur/Percy confrontation!**

**Please, ****_please _****REVIEW! It really means a lot to me : )**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	9. The Potions Master

**Reading:**

**Harry Potter**

**Hermione Granger**

**Ron Weasley**

**Fred Weasley**

**George Weasley**

**Arthur Weasley**

**Molly Weasley**

**Bill Weasley**

**Charlie Weasley**

**Ginny Weasley**

**Percy Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

**Remus Lupin**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Tonks**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Potions Master**

Arthur entered the Meeting Room silently, looking for Percy. He spotted him sitting in an armchair, back to the door, staring at a fireplace on one wall. His arms were crossed and he looked tense.

Arthur approached him carefully, stopping a few feet behind him. "Percy," he said quietly.

Percy jumped and glanced behind him, then immediately turned back to face the fire. "What do you want?" he asked tightly.

"I wanted to know if you were alright," Arthur said, frowning. "You stormed out of the room."

Percy snorted humorlessly. "Why do you care?"

"Because, like it or not, you are my son," said Arthur, his temper rising a bit. "And just because you hate me does not change that fact!"

Percy was silent for a moment, before he said, in such a quiet voice Arthur could barely hear him, "I don't hate you."

Arthur paused, surprised. "Well, it certainly seems like it," he said coolly.

Percy finally stood up and turned around, glaring at his father. "I didn't mean to say those things!" he shouted. "I was disappointed, and angry, and mad that you didn't care more about my job, and I just got carried away!"

"Well then why didn't you come back?" asked Arthur. "You could have told us all of this earlier!"

Percy frowned at the ceiling. "I started listening to the Ministry," he muttered. "They were saying all these things about Harry and Dumbledore, and I just… started to believe them."

"You believed that they were nutters, then?"

"Yes, I did!" Percy yelled.

Arthur was quiet for a moment. "But you don't anymore," he said quietly.

Percy shut his eyes for a moment. "I don't know," he said. "These books… being with Harry again… I just don't know." His voice cracked a bit on the last word. "But it doesn't matter," he said, smiling bitterly. "The entire family hates me. Fred, George, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Ron- they won't ever accept me back, and I doubt Mother will either. And after those things I said to you…" He shook his head, turning away from his father.

"Percy…" Arthur said, taking a step forward and placing a hand on his son's shoulder tentatively. "I forgive you," he said.

Percy turned around, a frown gracing his features. "You… you do?"

"We both said things we didn't mean that night," Arthur said. "I understand where you were coming from, and I'm sorry I wasn't a better father. I should have cared more about your job, and it is my fault we don't have a lot of money-"

"Oh, that doesn't matter, Dad," Percy said with a small smile. "You love your job, and that's what's important."

Arthur smiled. "Oh, come here." He wrapped Percy in a hug, and Percy returned it easily.

"Are you ready to be part of the family again?" Arthur asked once he had pulled back.

"Are you ready to have a prat for a son again?" laughed Percy.

Arthur grinned. "I wouldn't change it for the world," he said.

They stood for a few minutes, just smiling at each other, before Arthur cleared his throat. "Now then," he said, "I expect everyone's wondering what we're doing in here. And you, young man, need to apologize to your mother."

"I know," said Percy guiltily.

"It'll be fine," smiled Arthur, leading the way to the door. He turned back to Percy. "Ready?" he asked.

Percy took a deep breath. "No. But let's do this."

Arthur opened the door and stepped out. The room fell silent, and everyone turned to look as Arthur stepped to the side, clearing a space for Percy.

Silently, Percy stepped out of the room. His siblings glared suspiciously at him while everyone else looked on uncomfortably, feeling intrusive. He ignored them all and locked eyes with his mother, who had tears swimming in her eyes.

"Mother…" he started, then cleared his throat. "Mom. I'm sorry."

Molly let out a great wail and launched herself at Percy, wrapping him in a big hug. Percy stumbled back a few steps but returned the hug easily. He looked over his shoulder where the rest of his family sat staring at him.

He gently pulled himself out of the hug and turned to Harry. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said sincerely. "I was a prat. I shouldn't have believed all the things the Ministry said about you. You too, Professor Dumbledore." Dumbledore smiled at him, and Harry gave a small nod.

Finally, Percy turned to his siblings. "Guys…" he started. "I'm sorry for… for everything. I made a mistake. I was a right and foul git."

"Yes, you were," said Bill.

"Can… can you guys forgive me?" asked Percy hopefully.

The Weasleys glanced at each other before looking back at Percy. "Well…" said George, frowning.

"Oh," said Percy, looking away. "I understand. I deserve-"

"Ah, we're just messing with you, Perce," said Fred, standing up and clapping Percy on the shoulder.

"'Course we forgive you! But don't ever do anything like that again," George warned, "or you'll be in big trouble with us."

"I won't," said Percy with a smile.

"Awwww," said Tonks. "Can we read?"

Charlie rolled his eyes at his friend's impatience, but he was smiling.

"I'll read," said McGonagall, taking the book. Percy sat down next to his mother, who gripped his hand tightly in her own.

"The Potions Master," she read.

Fred groaned. "That git gets a whole chapter to himself?" he muttered.

**"There, look."**

**"Where?"**

**"Next to the tall kid with the red hair."**

**"Wearing the glasses?"**

**"Did you see his face?"**

**"Did you see his scar?"**

"That would get annoying," admitted Tonks.

"It is," assured Harry.

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. **

"Ugh," groaned Ginny. "He's trying to find his way to class!"

**Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.**

Ginny turned red. "See, Harry agrees with me," she muttered.

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:**

"Hermione kept saying it," said Harry to the looks he was getting.

**wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump.**

"James never remembered those," laughed Sirius.

**Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending.**

"I hate those," moaned Bill.

**It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk.**

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on you head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"**

"Sirius and James taught him that," said Remus. McGonagall glared at him.

"It was Prongs' idea," muttered Sirius.

"Wait," said Fred.

"Prongs?" asked George.

"As in, the Marauders?" they asked together.

"Yeah," said Sirius. "How do you know about them?"

"We have their map!" George said.

"Do you know them?" asked Fred.

Remus laughed. "_We're _the Marauders," he said. "I'm Moony, Sirius is Padfoot, James was Prongs, and Pettigrew was Wormtail."

The twins exchanged a glance, too shocked for words. "We were taught by a Marauder!" they screamed together, giving each other a high five.

"We have so much to thank you for," said George, nodded excitedly.

"Soooo much," said Fred.

"Can you continue this later?" snapped McGonagall. "Some of us wish to continue reading."

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall," said the twins.

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch.**

"Definitely worse," agreed Tonks.

**Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. **

"Congratulations!" said Sirius.

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the deungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.**

Ron and Harry made a face at being rescued by a man who had had Lord Voldemort on the back of his head.

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamplike eyes just like Filch's.**

"That thing is still alive?" asked Sirius incredulously. "No way!"

"It was old when we were at school," said Remus.

**She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins)**

"No, we know it best," said Remus, as Sirius nodded.

**and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.**

"I did once," Sirius said reminiscently. "It was glorious."

"You were in detention for a month."

"Totally worth it."

**And then, once you managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**

Dumbledore chuckled. "Much more," he said.

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.**

**Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost.**

"I loved History of Magic," said Charlie. "Excellent place to catch up on your sleep."

"Charlie!" scolded Molly.

"What? You don't need to know anything to pass the test. I submitted a Potions essay for second year exams, and I got full marks," he said.

"Really?" asked Ron eagerly.

"No, Ron," said Hermione flatly.

**Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.**

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

Everyone chuckled at the beloved Charms teacher.

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. **

McGonagall was pleased at this thought.

**Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.**

**"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back.**

"You let us stay," pointed out Sirius.

McGonagall didn't respond. Sirius smirked.

**You have been warned."**

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.**

"I still can't do it," muttered Charlie.

**After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle.**

"You were right, Perce," said George. Percy smiled at his brother.

**By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match;**

"Shocker."

**Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone al silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile.**

**The class everyone had been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke.**

"They were pretty bad," said Fred.

**His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, ha been given to him b an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story.**

"I sure don't," said Tonks.

**For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather;**

Everyone snorted.

**for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.**

Everyone laughed, but the trio exchanged disgusted looks, knowing what was really giving off that funny smell.

**Harry was relieved to find out he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.**

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.**

"It took you a week?" asked George, incredulous.

"We found a secret passageway our first week," said Fred.

"Oh, really?" Molly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh look, a book."

"Let's read it."

**"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.**

**"Double Potions with the Slytherins,"**

Everyone moaned.

**said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin house. They say he always favors them- we'll be able to see if it's true."**

"Oh, it is," said Bill.

McGonagall frowned at Dumbledore, eager to hear her colleague's class first-hand.

**"Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry.**

"Certainly not, Mr. Potter," said McGonagall, miffed.

**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

"It shouldn't."

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling tables until they saw their owners, dropping letters and packages onto their laps.**

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far.**

Everyone except Harry frowned.

**She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls.**

"That's a very smart owl," commented Charlie.

"She's brilliant," Harry said fondly.

**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:**

**_Dear Harry,_**

**_I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig._**

**_Hagrid._**

Molly smiled, happy that Harry was getting mail.

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled ****_Yes, please, see you later _****on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.**

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.**

"Oh, really?" asked Molly, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry-**

"_What?_" everyone asked in disbelief.

"Keep going," said Harry grimly.

**he ****_hated _****him.**

"Oh, that makes more sense," said Ron.

"He doesn't hate you, dear," said Molly.

"Oh, he hates him," said Hermione.

The adults frowned.

**Potions lesson took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough with the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.**

"Er- creepy!" said Sirius.

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class b taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.**

**"Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new- ****_celebrity._****"**

"That was uncalled for," frowned Arthur.

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth.**

"Don't compare that git to Hagrid!" Sirius said.

**They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.**

**"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word- like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.**

"Yeah, out of fear, not respect," growled Charlie.

**"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the sense… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**

"That was actually a good speech until he called the all dunderheads," said Tonks dryly. Dumbledore frowned slightly, and McGonagall glared at the book.

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.**

Hermione turned red. "I was ambitious," she muttered.

**"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"**

"Draught of the Living Death," said Harry.

"That's not a first year potion," frowned Remus.

**_Powdered root of a what to an infusion of what? _****Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.**

"How did you know?" asked Charlie in disbelief.

"I read more than I needed because I was afraid I would be far behind in classes," snapped Hermione. "And I actually wanted to have friends."

Charlie shut up.

"You have friends, 'Mione," said Harry, throwing an arm over her shoulders.

"The best friends," Hermione said, smiling at him.

Ron frowned slightly, looking away.

**"I don't know, sir," said Harry.**

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer.**

**"Tut, tut- fame clearly isn't everything."**

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Molly angrily.

**He ignored Hermione's hand.**

"Well, he wants to know the answer, doesn't he?" asked Tonks irritably.

**"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"**

"The stomach of a goat," said Sirius, glaring. "Stupid Snivellus, he wouldn't know that!"

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**

"I'll bet you anything they didn't know," muttered George.

**"I don't know, sir."**

**"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"**

**Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He ****_had _****looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in ****_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?_**

"Obviously, he does," sniffed McGonagall.

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.**

**"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"**

"Trick question, they're the same," said Percy, eyes narrowed at the book.

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

"Merlin's beard, just call on her!" said George, exasperated.

**"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"**

"I don't think Snape will appreciate sarcasm," said Remus with a smile.

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.**

**"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of the Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"**

"Because you didn't tell them too!" said Tonks.

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

"Just a point, that isn't too bad," said Sirius, waving it off."

**Things didn't improve for Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like.**

"Of course," muttered Sirius. "His dad's a death eater."

Harry shivered, remembering his time in the graveyard. Ginny laid a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

**He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes.**

"Uh-oh," said Remus.

**Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.**

"Poor Neville," sympathized Molly.

**"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape,**

"He can't speak like that to a child!" said Molly, outraged.

"I will have a talk with Professor Snape," said Dumbledore grimly.

**clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"**

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.**

**"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.**

"He can't possible blame them!" cried Bill.

**"You- Potter- why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."**

"Severus Snape!" growled Molly.

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.**

**"Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."**

"Good idea," said Tonks.

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week-**

"Ah, that's nothing," said Remus.

**_why _****did Snape hate him so much?**

"James," said Sirius grimly.

**"Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"**

"Oh yeah, you get to go to Hagrid's!" said Charlie.

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.**

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "****_Back_****, Fang- ****_back._****"**

"Ah, Fang," said Charlie fondly. "I miss him."

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.**

**"Hang on," he said. ****_"Back,_**** Fang."**

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.**

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.**

**"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**

"The cute names are what you have to be scared of," nodded Charlie. The trio grinned at each other.

**"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.**

"Don't eat them," warned Sirius.

**"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles.**

The Weasley's frowned at each other.

**"I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers from the forest."**

"Fred! George!"

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons.**

"So polite," smiled Molly.

**Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.**

"Eww," said Hermione and Ginny, making a face.

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."**

**"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime.**

"Yeah!" cheered everyone.

**D'yeh know, every tiem I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her- Filch puts her up to it."**

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.**

**"But he seemed to really ****_hate _****me."**

**"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" **

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.**

"Yes, Hagrid would know about Snape and James," said Remus.

**"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lo- great with animals."**

"Aw yeah!" cheered Charlie.

"Hagrid sucks at changing the subject," sniggered Bill.

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. **

"Yup."

**While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the ****_Daily Prophet:_**

**_Gringotts Break-In Latest_**

**_Investigations continue into the break-in at  
Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the  
work of Dark wizards or withes unknown.  
Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing  
had been taken. The vault that was searched had in  
fact been emptied the same day.  
"But we're not telling you what was in there, so  
keep your noses out if you know what's good  
for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon._**

"Wow," said Charlie, shaking his head in disbelief.

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date. **

**"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"**

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake.**

"Subtle," Fred snorted.

**Harry read the story again. ****_The vault that was searched had been emptied earlier that same day. _****Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?**

"Too curious," muttered Molly.

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, **

"So sweet," cooed Molly. Harry and Ron glanced at each other, slightly worried.

**Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**

"Yup," said Sirius.

"That's the end of the chapter," said McGonagall.

"I'll read next," said Harry, reaching for the book.

They were interrupted by a flash of light and a small yell, signaling that someone else had just arrived to read.

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun dun, who is it?**

**Next chapter will hopefully be up soon!**

**More reviews= Faster update**

**Thanks for reading!  
xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	10. The Midnight Duel

**Harry Potter**

**Hermione Granger**

**Ron Weasley**

**Fred Weasley**

**George Weasley**

**Arthur Weasley**

**Molly Weasley**

**Bill Weasley**

**Charlie Weasley**

**Ginny Weasley**

**Percy Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

**Remus Lupin**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Tonks**

**Neville Longbottom**

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Midnight Duel**

Someone landed in a heap on the ground with a muffled 'oomph'.

"Neville!" cried Ginny, jumping up to help him get up.

"Ginny?" asked Neville, shaking his head to clear it. "Oh, thanks- where am I?"

"No idea!" chirped Tonks.

"We all got sent here," explained Ginny. "We don't know by whom, but we're here to read books about Harry's life."

"Books about Harry?"

"Seven of them," said Harry glumly.

"One for each year at school…" muttered Neville. "But… you're only going into your fifth year. So they're about the future, too?"

"Yeah."

"What book are you on?"

"Only the first," said Ginny. She quickly summed up what had happened so far. "Oh, and I don't know if you know everyone… my older brother's, Bill and Charlie; Nymphadora Tonks ("DON'T CALL ME NYMPHADORA!) don't call her Nymphadora, or she gets angry; you already know Professor Lupin; Sirius Black-"

"Sirius Black!" shouted Neville, jumping back.

Sirius threw up his hands, and Neville flinched. "I am innocent!"

"The third book will explain," added Harry, "but you can trust him."

Neville looked uncertain, but nodded anyways, trusting his friends.

"Right then, we can continue reading," said Charlie. "Neville, do you want to read since you just got here?"

"Sure," said Neville, sitting down as far away from Sirius as he could and taking the book.

"The Midnight Duel," he read.

"Don't tell me you dueled," groaned Molly.

"Er- not exactly," said Harry nervously.

**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan.**

"What?" asked Sirius.

"Let him read, Sirius," said Remus, rolling his eyes.

Neville was surprised to see his old professor acting so calm around the mass murderer, but read on.

**Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday-**

"YES!" shouted the Quidditch addicts.

**and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**

Everyone groaned.

**"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."**

Everyone who'd seen him fly snickered.

**He had been looking forward to flying more than anything else.**

"You are your father's son," said Remus. Harry grinned.

**"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**

"Actually, no," admitted Harry, "he can fly, and he'd be better if he just focused more."

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seem to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**

"I'll bet he doesn't know what a helicopter is," said Tonks.

**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.**

"Hey!" said Charlie.

"I was ten," Ron defended.

**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly.**

"That's cause it's awesome," said Charlie.

**Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was so exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**

Ron went red as several people snickered.

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one.**

"Wow, it's weird reading about yourself," muttered Neville.

**Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**

"Sorry, Neville."

"It's fine; and it's true."

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was.**

"Yeah, you can't learn it out of a book," said Charlie.

**This was something you couldn't learn out of a book- not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called ****_Quidditch Through the Ages._**

"The only book worth reading," added Sirius.

"Sirius? Reading?" said Remus in mock-amusement.

"Can it, Moony."

**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.**

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**

"Git," growled Charlie.

"I hate him," announced Sirius.

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke. **

**"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things- this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look you hold it tight like this and if it turns red- oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "…you've forgotten something…"**

"Those things are pointless," said Remus. "They never tell you what you forgot."

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.**

"Oy!" cried Sirius. "Give it back!"

Neville looked at him out of the corner of his eye. It was really looking like Sirius Black was innocent, after everything that he had been told.

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy,**

"Oh no you don't," warned Molly.

**but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.**

"I had plenty of practice with that when these two were at school." McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Remus and Sirius, who smiled innocently.

**"What's going on?" **

**"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."**

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.**

**"Just looking," he said,**

"Suuuure," said Bill, rolling his eyes.

**and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**

"Perfect conditions," said Charlie excitedly.

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground.**

"I _hate _the school brooms," moaned Sirius.

**Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.**

"Why _does _she have yellow eyes?" asked Fred curiously.

"An accident in Transfiguration," said Dumbledore with a smile. "I could have fixed it, but she said she liked them."

**"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."**

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**

Charlie wrinkled his nose.

**"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say, 'Up!'"**

**"UP!" everyone shouted.**

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did.**

"Natural flyer," said Sirius, giving Harry a hearty slap on the back and a grin.

**Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.**

"Interesting theory," said Dumbledore thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought of that before."

Harry blushed slightly.

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

Fred and George snickered.

**"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning down slightly. On my whistle- three- two-"**

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**

"There's always one," said Sirius, smiling in Neville's direction. Neville gave an apprehensive smile back.

**"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle- twelve feet- twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and-**

"Oh dear," said Molly worriedly.

**WHAM- a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap.**

"Are you alright?" asked Molly.

"Yes, I'm fine Mrs. Weasley," said Neville.

**His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**

"I wonder if anyone got that," said George, his lips quirking.

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his. **

**"Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy- it's all right, up you get."**

**She turned to the rest of the class.**

**"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'.**

"Quidditch."

**Come on, dear."**

Harry frowned. Did Sirius know what year he had gotten on the team? Oh well, he was about to find out.

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.**

**No sooner were they out of ear shot than Malfoy burst into laughter.**

**"Did you see his face, the great lump?"**

"How dare he," growled Bill. "Git."

**The other Slytherins joined in.**

**"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.**

**"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slythering girl. "Never thought ****_you'd _****like fat little cry-babies, Parvati."**

"Can someone punch her?" growled Bill.

** "Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."**

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.**

"Put that down!" barked Sirius.

**"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.**

"Oh, are you going to fight?" moaned Molly.

**Malfoy smiled nastily.**

**"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find- how about- up a tree?"**

**"Give it ****_here!"_**** Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he ****_could _****fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"**

"Don't do it," warned Molly.

**Harry grabbed his broom.**

Molly groaned.

**"****_No!_****" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move- you'll get us all into trouble."**

**Harry ignored her.**

"Oh, thanks."

**Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him- and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught- this was easy, this was ****_wonderful._**

"Natural," said Charlie with a nod. Sirius smiled proudly.

**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.**

"Of course," said Tonks. "He wasn't expecting you to be able to fly with no instruction."

**"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"**

**"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.**

"Well, yeah," said Ron. "There's no Crabbe or Goyle to protect him up there."

"How will he ever do anything without his precious bodyguards?" asked Harry with a fake gasp.

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**

"Wow," said Charlie in shock. "That's good flying."

Fred and George snorted. "Harry can do so much more," they said, waving their hands in a submissive way.

**"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.**

"We've established that, Harry-kins," said Fred with a grin.

"Oh, shut up!"

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.**

**"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.**

"It's gone," said Bill with a frown.

The twins and the trio exchanged amused glances.

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down- next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball- wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching- he stretched out his hand- a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**

Everyone looked stunned. Charlie was gaping, his mouth moving like a fish.

"Well, Charlie," said Bill finally. "I think he might be better than you."

"No kidding!" said Charlie, blinking.

Sirius and Remus were grinning widely. "That was an awesome catch, Harry!" said Sirius proudly.

Harry blushed, but smiled. "Thanks," he said.

"Thanks for catching it, Harry," said Neville.

"No problem."

**"HARRY POTTER!"**

"Oh no," moaned Bill.

**His heart sank fast than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. He got to his feet, trembling.**

**_"Never-_**** in all my time at Hogwarts-"**

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously. "-how ****_dare _****you- might have broken your neck-"**

**"It wasn't his fault, Professor-"**

**"Be quiet, Miss Patil-"**

**"But Malfoy-"**

**"That's ****_enough_****, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."**

"You could have at least listened," muttered Ron.

**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**

"You wouldn't be expelled for something like that," said Sirius. "A few detentions, maybe, but expulsion? No."

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes.**

"Too pessimistic," muttered Ginny.

**What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant.**

"Really, Harry?" asked Hermione, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, I know!"

**His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the other's becoming wizards while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**

"That would suck," said Fred.

**Professor McGonagall stepped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.**

**"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"**

"Wood?" asked Sirius, bewildered.

**Wood? Thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?**

McGonagall let out a gasp. "Mr. Potter- I would never harm a student- how could you even think-"

"I didn't know you that well," defended Harry quickly. "I know now that you would never hurt me."

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused.**

"She isn't," said Sirius slowly, comprehension dawning.

**"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry.**

**"In here."**

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.**

"Ah, Peeves," sighed the twins fondly.

**"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. **

"Woah!" said the twins, impressed. "You made him leave!"

"He respects the professors… somewhat," said McGonagall.

**Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.**

**"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood- I've found you a Seeker."**

"NO WAY!" yelled Sirius.

"You made it in your first year?" asked Remus.

Harry nodded with a grin.

"I didn't know that," said Sirius, beaming proudly at his godson. "Excellent job, pup."

**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.**

**"Are you serious, Professor?"**

"No, I am!" said Sirius with a smirk.

He got three pillows to the face.

**"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broom, Potter?"**

**Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.**

**"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."**

"Hey!" said Charlie. Then- "Okay, yeah, maybe not. I want to play you some time, Harry."

"Sounds like fun," said Harry with a smile.

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.**

"They probably had," said Ron, remembering the fanatic Quidditch captain.

**"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.**

**"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.**

**"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "light- speedy- we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."**

"Get the nimbus!" said Charlie excitedly.

**"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule.**

"Minnie always bends rules for Quidditch," said Sirius with a grin, using the nickname he and James had given her in their third year.

"First off, don't call me that, Sirius. And I do not bend rules," frowned Professor McGonagall.

"What about that time you let James out of a weeks worth of detention because there was a match coming up?" asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.

McGonagall didn't meet his eye. Everyone sniggered.

**Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. ****_Flattened _****in the last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…"**

"I can't look at his face ever," muttered George. "My eyes burn too much." Everyone who heard snorted.

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.**

**"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."**

**Then she suddenly smiled.**

**"Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."**

"He was," said Remus with a sad smile.

"Completely obsessed, he was," chuckled Sirius.

**"You're ****_joking._****"**

"No, he was!" said Sirius.

"Setting change," said Neville, getting more comfortable around Sirius. "This is Ron talking."

"Ooohhh," said Sirius, nodding.

**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.**

"Wow, Harry! You made Ron forget about food!" said Ginny in surprise. Ron pouted.

**"****_Seeker?_****" he said. "But first years ****_never-_**** you must be the youngest house player in about-"**

"A century," everyone chorused.

**"-a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."**

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry.**

"So what everyone does when they see the famous Harry Potter," said Fred.

Harry sighed. "Don't I know it."

**"I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."**

"So the entire school is going to know," said Tonks.

"News travels fast at Hogwarts," agreed Charlie.

**Fred and George Weasley**

"Hey, that's us!"

"No, really?"

**now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.**

**"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too- Beaters."**

**"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred.**

Harry shifted uncomfortably.

**"We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**

"I'll bet he was," said Harry. "That's Wood, for you."

**"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."**

**"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. **

"First week?" asked Sirius, impressed. "It took us till Christmas. Good work."

Fred and George swelled proudly at the praise from one of the Marauders.

"There's a secret passageway behind that statue?" asked McGonagall blankly. "I didn't know that."

Dumbledore chuckled. "There are many secret passages in Hogwarts. Not even I know all of them."

**See you."**

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.**

"When isn't he flanked by them?" asked Hermione, rolling her eyes. "They're his bodyguards."

**"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"**

**"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.**

"Little?" asked Ginny in disbelief.

**There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**

"I'm shaking in my boots," said Tonks dryly.

**"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only- no contact.**

Molly groaned. "Don't you dare," she said, glaring at Harry and Ron, who whistled innocently.

**What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"**

"And now he's going to have to do it," muttered Hermione.

**"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"**

"RONALD!"

"This happened four years ago, mom," said Ron hopefully.

Molly sat down, still seething and shooting glares at her youngest son.

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.**

**"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."**

"It's a trap," said Remus immediately.

Harry and Ron glanced at each other sheepishly, while Hermione tutted them.

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other. **

**"What ****_is _****a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"**

**"Well, a second's to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie.**

"Ronald!"

**Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But most people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards.**

"Comforting," said Ginny sarcastically.

**The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyways."**

"Doubtful," said Sirius.

"It's a trap for sure," added Remus.

Harry and Ron ignored Hermione, who was sending them superior looks.

**"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"**

"Toss it to the side and punch his nose," said Sirius.

Neville looked at him strangely, making Sirius frown. "What?" he asked. In response, Neville just read.

**"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.**

"Oh dear Merlin," groaned Remus, putting his head in his hands. "We have another Sirius."

"Hey!" Sirius defended as everyone laughed (except Ron, who scowled). "That's nothing to be ashamed of, Ron, I'm awesome. You'll go far in life if you're like me."

"You're a convicted murderer," said Remus, raising an eyebrow.

"Details," said Sirius, waving his hand impatiently.

**"Excuse me."**

**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.**

A few people groaned, but Hermione couldn't tell who, and therefore couldn't tell them off.

**"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.**

"'Course not. It's Hogwarts!" chirped Tonks.

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.**

**"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying-"**

"Bet you could," Fred and George said. Hermione glared at them.

**"Bet you could," Ron muttered.**

The twins looked at Ron, surprised. "Hm," said George. "Maybe we _are _related…"

"Hey!"

**"-and you ****_musn't _****go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."**

"That's right," said Molly. "Listen to Hermione."

**"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.**

**"Good-bye," said Ron.**

"Boys!" snapped Molly. "Be polite!"

"How are you three friends?" asked Charlie in disbelief. "You hated each other!"

Everyone else was looking like they quite wanted that questions answered as well.

"You'll see," said Hermione, grinning at the two boys.

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing).**

"Oh, are you alright?" asked Molly fretfully.

"Yes, I was fine, Mrs. Weasley," said Neville.

**Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**

"Reassuring," snorted Bill.

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today.**

"Yes, you are," Remus said, slightly scoldingly.

"Oh, like you didn't sneak out at night," muttered Sirius, rolling his eyes.

**On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness- this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.**

"Oh, honestly," muttered Ginny.

**"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."**

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."**

"Oh, really!" said Charlie. "Just leave them alone!"

"I didn't want them to get in trouble," defended Hermione.

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.**

**_"You!" _****said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"**

"You could have been a bit nicer," muttered Hermione.

"Sorry," said Ron sheepishly.

**"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy- he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."**

"Would you really have?" asked Ginny.

"Well," said Hermione thoughtfully, "back then I think I might have. I've changed a lot since then. I've been out of bed a few times myself."

"Miss Granger!" said McGonagall in disbelief.

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.**

Harry chuckled nervously at the glare Hermione sent him.

**"Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.**

**Hermione wasn't going to give up so easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.**

"I did _not _sound like an angry voice!" Hermione said indignantly.

**"Don't you ****_care _****about Gryffindor, do you ****_only _****care about yourselves, ****_I _****don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing Switching Spells."**

"Calm down!" said Tonks in disbelief.

**"Go away."**

"_How are you friends?_" asked Sirius in disbelief.

**"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so-"**

"So what?" asked Fred eagerly.

**But what they were, they didn't find out.**

"Aw!"

**Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.**

"Oh, I hate when she does that," said Molly.

"When has that happened to you?" asked Ginny in surprise.

Molly blushed. "Well, in our seventh year, your father and I snuck out to-"

"DON'T WANT TO KNOW!" cried all of her children together.

**"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.**

"I do _not _talk shrilly!" cried Hermione shrilly.

**"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."**

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.**

**"I'm coming with you," she said.**

**"You are ****_not._****"**

"You really didn't like me," said Hermione sadly.

"We like you now, 'Mione," said Harry, putting an arm around her shoulders and smiling at her.

"I now," she said, grinning a bit.

Ron watched them for a little bit then looked away, a frown on his face.

**"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up?"**

"Really, Hermione?" asked George.

"I knew enough about Harry to know that he wouldn't let me get in trouble because of that," Hermione said.

"She's right," admitted Harry.

**"You've got some nerve-" said Ron loudly.**

**"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply.**

"Oh, thank you," everyone sighed.

"Hey!" said Hermione and Ron.

**"I heard something."**

**It was a sort of snuffling.**

**"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.**

"Run!" said Bill.

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.**

"Oh, dear," cooed Molly sympathetically.

"Right…" said Neville nervously.

**""Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."**

"Sounds like something-" Sirius paused. "Pettigrew would do," he muttered, glancing at Neville.

"No, Sirius," said Harry sharply. "They're not anything alike."

Sirius nodded, though he didn't look fully convinced.

**"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."**

**"How's your arm?" said Harry.**

"You're so sweet," said Ginny with a smile. Harry turned red.

**"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."**

**"Good- well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later-"**

**"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."**

"No wonder you don't want to stay out there alone," agreed Charlie.

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.**

**"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."**

Ginny snorted. "Like you could do it."

"Oh, thanks, sister dear."

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,**

"Was not."

**but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.**

"Now that I think about it, I think you actually hissed," said Hermione. "Parseltongue?"

"It was pretty creepy," admitted Ron. "I think it was, now that I think about it."

"Maybe," said Harry, shrugging.

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.**

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet.**

"They aren't coming," said Sirius.

**Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once.**

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" yelled Tonks in such a good impression of Mad-Eye everyone jumped and glared at her.

**The minutes crept by.**

**"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.**

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak- and it wasn't Malfoy.**

**"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."**

"That prat!" growled Sirius.

"Run!" yelled George.

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly to the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.**

Every let out a sigh of relief.

"They aren't safe yet," said Remus grimly.

**"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."**

**"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified,**

Hermione shivered slightly at this term, and Ron smiled at her comfortingly.

**they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run- he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.**

"Oh no," moaned Molly.

**The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**

"That stinks," said Fred sympathetically.

**"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see if Filch was following- they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going- they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**

"Good job!" said George brightly.

**"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**

**"I- ****_told-_**** you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I- told- you."**

"Now is really not the time for an 'I told you so', Hermione," said Sirius, chuckling.

"Well, if I had brought it up later, Ron would have snapped at me for bringing it up too late!" Hermione said.

**"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."**

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but listen to Ron," Ginny said.

**"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you- Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."**

"We know, Hermione."

"Shut up."

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Of course," she muttered.

**"Let's go."**

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.**

"Peeves," everyone groaned.

**It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.**

**"Shut up, Peeves- please- you'll get us thrown out."**

"He'd love that," said Remus.

**Peeves cackled.**

**"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."**

Fred and George couldn't help but snicker.

**"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."**

**"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly.**

"Yeah right," snorted Tonks. "They hate each other."

**"It's for your own good, you know."**

**"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves-**

"Ron!" groaned Fred.

"How dense can you get?" asked George.

"Boys!" whispered Molly, frowning sharply. The twins glanced at each other guiltily as Ron glanced down.

**this was a big mistake.**

**"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"**

"Bloody fantastic," cursed Charlie.

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door- and it was locked.**

"You have the worst luck," said Sirius.

"Don't we know it," moaned the trio.

**"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"**

"Boy, Ron, and I thought Harry was pessimistic," teased Ginny.

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.l**

**"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, ****_"Alohomora!"_**

**The lock clicked and the door swung open-**

"Impressive, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. "And with another's wand…"

"Thank you, professor," said Hermione, blushing scarlet.

**they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.**

**"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."**

**"Say 'please.'"**

"Oh good, he won't tell," said Sirius with a sigh of relief.

"How do you know?" asked Fred.

"I spent a lot of time with Peeves," said Sirius, nodding solemnly.

"Yes, you did," said McGonagall dryly.

**"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now ****_where did they go?"_**

**"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.**

**"All right- ****_please."_**

**"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.**

"Told ya so," said Sirius, grinning.

"No one doubted you, Padfoot," said Remus, rolling his eyes.

**"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay- get ****_off, _****Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "****_What?"_**

**Harry turned around- and saw, quite clearly, what.**

"What is it?" asked Molly nervously.

**For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare- this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.**

"_What is it?"_ whispered Sirius, getting worried.

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor.**

"The forbidden corridor," groaned Remus.

**The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.**

"Oh, no," fretted Molly.

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**

"GET OUT OF THERE!" screeched Molly.

"What is that doing in the school?" demanded Remus.

"You'll see," said Dumbledore gravely.

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**

"Get out, get out, get out," chanted Molly.

**Harry groped for the doorknob- between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.**

"Good choice," said Charlie.

"I don't know, Filch is pretty bad," said George.

**They fell backward- Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor.**

Molly breathed a sigh of relief. "Merlin," she muttered. "This book is going to be horrible on my nerves."

**Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared- all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster.**

"Yes, do that," urged Sirius.

**They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.**

**"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.**

"Who cares? Let them in!" snapped Charlie.

**"Never mind that- pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.**

"They're safe, Molly," said Arthur.

"I know," said Molly, giving him a tight smile.

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**

**"What do you think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."**

Everyone snorted. "Only Ron," said George.

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again.**

**"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"**

"What it was- Hermione," spluttered Charlie, "I would be focusing on its heads!"

**"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."**

"See, Harry agrees with me."

"Shut up, Charlie."

**"No, ****_not _****the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."**

"Why are you three so perceptive and attentive?" groaned McGonagall. "Now you're going to wonder what it is."

**She stood up, glaring at them.**

**"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed- or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."**

Every stared at Hermione.

"Merlin, Hermione!" said Fred. "You need to straighten out your priorities!"

Hermione tinged pink. "I know better now!"

**Ron stared after her, mouth open.**

**"No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"**

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something… What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide- except perhaps Hogwarts.**

"They're putting it together," muttered McGonagall.

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**

"Oh, brilliant," moaned Molly.

"That's the end of the chapter," said Neville.

"I'll read next," said Ron, taking the book.

"Halloween."

* * *

**A/N: There ya go!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please continue to do so, it encourages me to write.**

**The more you review, the faster I update!**

**Thanks for reading, everyone. The next chapter should be up soon.**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	11. Halloween

**Harry Potter**

**Hermione Granger**

**Ron Weasley**

**Fred Weasley**

**George Weasley**

**Arthur Weasley**

**Molly Weasley**

**Bill Weasley**

**Charlie Weasley**

**Ginny Weasley**

**Percy Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

**Remus Lupin**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Tonks**

**Neville Longbottom **

* * *

**Chapter 10: Halloween**

**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.**

"Why in the name of Merlin are you cheerful?" asked Tonks incredulously.

**Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one.**

"You two are idiots," muttered Ginny.

**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.**

**"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.**

"Or both," said Ginny.

**"Or both," said Harry.**

The twins snickered, but Ginny just rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut it."

**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.**

**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again.**

"Good!" exclaimed Molly. "Why can't you two be more like that?" she shot at Harry and Ron, who avoided her eyes.

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus.**

"Thanks a lot," huffed Hermione, glaring at them.

"Sorry," they said sheepishly.

**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.**

"Oh, excellent," said Tonks, her hair turning blue as she grinned.

Remus found himself staring at her and quickly looked away.

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.**

"What the hell is that?" asked Charlie.

"Language!" snapped Molly.

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:**

**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.**

**It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't  
want everyone knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll  
all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the  
Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.**

**Professor M. McGonagall**

"Go Minnie!" cheered Sirius.

"I told you when you and James made that nickname up: Do not use it!" snapped McGonagall.

"Or what, you'll give me detention?" teased Sirius.

"No, but I can think of far suitable punishments for you. Now hold your tongue!"

Sirius shut up.

Neville watched this with furrowed eyebrows. He had grown up believing that Sirius Black was a heartless murderer, but that's not what this looked like. Neville decided to just ignore it until it came up in the books, as it was bound to.

**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.**

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even ****_touched _****one." They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle.**

"But of course."

**Malfoy**

"Gross."

**seized the package from Harry and felt it.**

"That boy has issues with taking things that aren't his," said Molly.

**"That's a broomstick,"**

"No fuck."

"FRED!"

"I'm not Fred, I'm George!" he proclaimed.

"Sweet Merlin, help me," prayed Molly.

**he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."**

"Not if you're Harry Potter!" sang the twins.

**Ron couldn't resist it.**

"Ronald," moaned Molly.

**"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."**

"Totally not," agreed Ginny.

**"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."**

There was a roar of outrage.

"Slimy little git," muttered Tonks.

**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.**

**"Not arguing, I hope, boys?"**

"Yes."

**he squeaked.**

**"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.**

**"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?"**

Everyone laughed. "Wish I could have seen his face," laughed George.

**"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face.**

"Why? Laugh in his face!" cheered Sirius.

**"And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added.**

"Well done, Harry-kins!" cheered Fred, giving him a high-five.

**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obviously rage and confusion.**

"Who's a confused little prat?" cooed Tonks.

**"Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team…"**

**"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them.**

Hermione sighed.

**Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.**

"She has a point," said Ginny. "Not that I wished you had gotten in trouble," she added hurriedly as Harry raised an eyebrow.

**"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.**

**"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."**

"Ronald, did you learn nothing from me?" sighed Molly.

**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.**

"Okay, I don't get it," said Sirius. "You three hated each other, yet now you're so close. How?!"

"You'll find out in this chapter," said Harry with a grin, further confusing everyone.

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night.**

"Excellent, pup, that's where it should be," said Sirius. "Er- I mean," he quickly corrected at a look from both Remus and Molly, "that's very bad, Harry, you should be focusing on your lessons."

**He bolted his dinner that evening without even noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last. **

**"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.**

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms,**

"GASP!"

**thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top.**

The Quidditch players sighed dreamily, and Harry smiled sadly. "I miss my Nimbus," he said quietly.

**At seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. He'd never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except they were fifty feet high.**

"Huh?" asked the pure-bloods.

"That's what they reminded me of too," said Hermione thoughtfully.

"Why would they bother blowing bubbles?" asked Ron incredulously. "Don't they just pop? I mean, it's not like they're multi-colored bubbles that just keep going on and on for eternity, never popping, never-"

"Just read!" everyone yelled.

**Too eager to fly to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling- he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field.**

"Just like your father," grinned Remus.

**The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.**

"The Firebolt seems to know where to go before you even think of it," chuckled Ron.

**"Hey, Potter, come down!"**

**Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him.**

**"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting.**

"He's very eager," said Sirius approvingly.

"You don't know the half of it," groaned everyone who had been on his team.

**"I see what McGonagall meant… you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."**

"Ah, the good old days," sighed Fred.

"When practice was only three times a week," finished George with a nod.

**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.**

**"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."**

"I want to play Chaser," said Ginny.

"Really?" asked Harry. "Are you good?"

"I guess," said Ginny with a shrug. "I'll show you when we're done with the reading."

**"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball.**

"That sport that Dean likes?" asked Ron, wrinkling his nose.

"Hey, it's not that bad," defended Hermione.

**"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"**

**"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So- that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"**

"What's basketball?" asked George.

"Muggle sport," is all Hermione said.

**"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously.**

"Oh sweet Merlin, I think like Wood," groaned George, putting his head in his hands.

**"Never mind," said Harry quickly.**

**"Now there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper- I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."**

Ron felt himself blush. He wanted to try out for Keeper this year…

"I played as reserve Keeper," said Remus.

"Really?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, he was great," said Sirius. "Didn't want to play full though."

**"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.**

**"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this."**

**He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.**

"It's a Muggle sport," sighed Hermione as the same people opened their mouths.

**"I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are Bludgers."**

"Wait," said Molly, "he released a Bludger on you without telling you what they did?!"

"I was fine," assured Harry.

**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box.**

**"Stand back," Wood warned Harry.**

"Good advice, that."

**He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.**

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face.**

"Swing, Harry!"

**Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air- it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.**

"Not bad," said Fred. "You could be a Beater. Not as good as us, though," he grinned, motioning to him and George.

**"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms.**

"So dangerous," Molly muttered.

"So fun!" exclaimed Sirius.

**That's why you have two Beaters on each team-**

"ME!" yelled Sirius, Fred, and George.

Remus winced. Sirius had yelled right into his ear. "Don't yell!" he snapped.

**the Weasley twins are ours- it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So- think you've got all that?"**

**"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team, Harry reeled off.**

**"Very good," said Wood.**

**"Er- have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping to sound offhand.**

"Not at Hogwarts," said Sirius, waving it off. "James broke his jaw once, though, and his arm… and that one time they knocked him off and he broke his leg… oh, and I fractured a rib… you know, maybe it is a bit of a dangerous sport… hmm…"

"Didn't you once knock Mr. McGuffin off his broom?" asked Dumbledore, raising an eyebrow.

"He lived," said Sirius.

**"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that.**

"Tell that to my ribs," muttered Sirius.

**Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker.**

"And we've got the best one ever right here!" said George proudly to Harry.

**That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers-"**

**"-unless they crack my head open.**

"We won't let them!" boasted Fred.

**"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers- I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."**

"So sweet," said Fred, wiping a fake tear away.

"I never knew he cared that much," sighed George, clutching his heart.

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. **

"The Golden Snitch!" everyone recited.

**Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.**

**"****_This,_****" said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot.**

"OY!"

**It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win.**

"He makes them sound like the Seekers the only important one," pouted Fred.

**That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for age- I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep.**

"I went to that game!" said Arthur excitedly. "It was amazing!"

"It was a waste of time," muttered Molly. "He made _me _sit through it! I had to keep bringing him changes of clothes and food; a nightmare, that was."

**"Well, that's it- any questions?"**

**Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.**

"But you're brilliant!" insisted George.

**"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these."**

**He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.**

"I did that," said Charlie. "Only missed two," he said, puffing out his chest proudly.

**Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted.**

Charlie deflated as everyone laughed. "Oh, shut up," he muttered, embarrassed.

**After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.**

**"That Quidditch cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle.**

"I wish," muttered Harry.

**"I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."**

"I think you already are better than him," laughed Bill.

"I will punch you!" threatened Charlie.

**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had.**

"So does the Burrow," smiled Harry. Molly beamed.

**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.**

"Harry!" gasped Fred and  
George. "Lessons? Interesting? Who are you?"

"I think that's very good of him," snapped Molly. "Enjoy your lessons, Harry dear."

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors.**

"Yes!" said Sirius. "I love Halloween."

**Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye).**

Harry winced. "Sorry, Neville."

"It's alright," said Neville, going red. "I know I'm no good at Charms, especially back then."

"You've been improving," said Hermione helpfully. "I'm sure by next year you'll be doing great."

"Thanks," muttered Neville doubtfully.

**Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger.**

Tonks let out a low whistle. "This should be interesting," she said.

**It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this.**

"I was," they both said at the same time. Then they frowned at each other across Harry, who was, unfortunately, sitting between them. "No, I was." Now they were glaring. "I was! Stop that! You-"

"Calm down!" shouted Harry, putting up his hands. "We get it, you were both upset. Now keep reading!"

Hermione huffed, and Ron went back to the book, looking miffed. "No need to shout," he muttered, and Hermione nodded.

Harry looked at them incredulously.

**She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.**

**"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too- never for Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."**

"That's not true," said Fred.

"We tried it," nodded George.

"When?" asked Molly suspiciously.

"Er- remember that time we made the walls leak milk?" asked Fred.

"Definitely not a buffalo," agreed George.

**It was very difficult.**

"No it isn't," said Hermione.

"I was eleven, Hermione."

**Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it- Harry had to put it out with his hat.**

"The only thing those things are good for," said Bill.

**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.**

**"****_Wingardium Leviosa!_****" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**

Everyone snorted. "I don't think that'll work, Ron," said Ginny.

"Oh, shut up," muttered Ron.

**"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-****_gar-_****dium Levi-****_o_****-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**

"Ron isn't going to like that," sighed Tonks.

**"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.**

"No, Ron, don't challenge her!" said Sirius. "Never challenge a brainiac. It doesn't work."

Remus smirked at him.

**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "****_Wingardium Leviosa!_****"**

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.**

"Well done, Ms. Granger," nodded Dumbledore, smiling.

**"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"**

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.**

"I would imagine," frowned Remus.

**"It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."**

"Ron!" cried Molly, horrified. "How could you say that about someone?"

"I wasn't thinking," Ron muttered. "Sorry, Hermione."

"I know you are," said Hermione, smiling softly.

**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face- and was startled to see that she was in tears.**

"She heard you," said Molly sadly, shooting a glare at her youngest son, who shifted uncomfortably. Everyone was giving him angry looks except for Harry and Hermione.

**"I think she heard you.**

**"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."**

"RONALD!"

"I heard that, too," said Hermione quietly, so no one else could hear.

Ron frowned. "Sorry," he said again.

**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween fest, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone.**

"You poor dear," said Molly, frowning. She had come to see Hermione as another daughter, and she hated hearing about her in pain.

**Ron looked still more awkward at this,**

Hermione smiled a bit at him.

**but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.**

The smile slid off as she glared at both boys.

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**

"I love Halloween!" said Sirius again.

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.**

"Oh no," moaned Molly.

**Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll- in the dungeons- thought you ought to know."**

"Troll?" screeched Molly. "No one told me this!"

**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.**

"Coward," scoffed Sirius.

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**

**"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"**

"What about the Slytherins?" frowned Remus. "Aren't their dormitories in the dungeons?"

"In the case that a house cannot go to their dormitories, they meet in the library," explained Dumbledore.

**Percy was in his element.**

Percy blushed.

**"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"**

Fred and George rolled their eyes.

"Good job, dear, keep them safe," urged Molly.

**"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**

**"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**

"He wouldn't," said Sirius. "He knows when to stop, he wouldn't do anything really dangerous."

**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**

**"I've just thought- Hermione."**

"She doesn't know about the troll," realized Remus.

"Please don't run into it," Molly prayed.

**"What about her?"**

Hermione huffed.

**"She doesn't know about the troll."**

**Ron bit his lip.**

**"Oh, all right," he snapped.**

"Thanks, Ron," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

**"But Percy'd better not see us."**

"Why not? He could help you," snapped Molly to the book.

Percy nodded.

**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**

**"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.**

"Why did you think it was me?" asked Percy.

Ron shrugged.

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape.**

"What's he doing?" asked Sirius suspiciously.

**He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.**

**"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"**

"Exactly."

**"Search me."**

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.**

**"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, **

"He's after the stone!" said Sirius, outraged.

"Just wait, Sirius," Harry said. He couldn't believe that they had blamed Snape for so long, only for it to turn out to be Quirrell.

**but Ron held up his hand.**

**"Can you smell something?"**

**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.**

"Er- ew," said Fred into the silence.

**And then they hear it- a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet.**

"The troll!" gasped Molly. "Run!"

**Ron pointed- at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.**

**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut.**

The twins couldn't help but snort quietly.

**It had legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.**

"Run," said Sirius, Molly nodding frantically.

**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**

**"The key's in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."**

Hermione turned to Harry, whacking his arm. "Ouch!" he said.

"You idiot," she muttered.

**"Good idea," said Ron nervously.**

"Ouch!" said Ron as Hermione hit him too. The others were looking at them, confused.

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.**

"Good, now run!" said Molly.

**"****_Yes!_****"**

"We didn't know!" Harry defended quietly as Hermione shot him a look.

**Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage,**

"Good," sighed Molly.

**but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop- a high, petrified scream- and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.**

"Hermione!" gasped Ginny.

"Oh no, oh no…" said Molly.

**"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.**

**"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.**

**"****_Hermione!_****" they said together.**

**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have?**

"Get a teacher!" cried Molly.

"If we had, Hermione would have died," said Ron.

Molly went pale. "Oh, alright," she said anxiously, "but be careful!"

"Doesn't she know this already happened?" Ron whispered to Harry, who shrugged.

**Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.**

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint.**

"At least she's still alive," said Bill helpfully. Charlie smacked him as Molly went even paler.

**The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went.**

**"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.**

"Good plan," said Sirius, nodding. Even he was a little pale about hearing his godson in danger.

**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.**

"No!" said Molly.

**"Oy, pea-brain!" Ron yelled from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Harry instead, giving Harry time to run around it.**

**"Come on, run, ****_run!_****" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.**

"Not the best time to freeze," Bill said, wincing.

"I wasn't yet used to getting into dangerous situations!" said Hermione. "I freeze for the next few times. I'm much better now."

"That's not what I want to hear," moaned Molly.

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.**

"No!" said Molly, wringing her hands. "Please, please be okay," she said.

**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid:**

"Of course," muttered Ginny.

**He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind.**

"What?" cried Sirius and Molly together.

**The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped- it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.**

"Ew!" said Tonks, wrinkling her nose.

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.**

"Oh, Harry," said Molly, biting her lip. "Don't get hurt!"

**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright;**

Hermione looked down, embarrassed.

**Ron pulled out his own wand- not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "****_Wingardium Leviosa!_****"**

"Really Ron?" asked Ginny in disbelief. "You're fighting a troll, your best friend is about to be killed, and you use a beginning spell you can't even do?"

"It worked," muttered Ron.

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, turned slowly over- and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat onto its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.**

The room was silent.

"Hah," said Ron, breaking the quiet. "Told you it worked."

"Oh thank Merlin," breathed Molly, getting up and wrapping all three of them in a huge hug. Sirius and Remus looked shaken, but seemed to be recovering.

"Mum- can't- breath-" gasped Ron.

"Sorry," said Molly, taking a step back and beaming at them all. "I'm just so glad that you were okay!" Then her face grew suspicious. "Why didn't I hear about this?" she asked with a frown.

"Er- we didn't want to worry you," said Harry, smiling hopefully.

Molly glared at them, then returned to her seat, muttering under her breath. "Should have told me," she said. "Alright, continue reading."

**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath.**

"But you're okay," sighed Sirius.

**Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.**

**It was Hermione who spoke first.**

**"Is it- dead?"**

"I hope so," muttered Molly.

**"I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out."**

**He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.**

Ginny winced. "That's disgusting," she muttered.

**"Urgh- troll boogers."**

**He wiped it on the troll's trousers.**

"Ew!" said Tonks.

"Would you rather it have been mine?" Harry countered.

Everyone shivered.

**A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roar.**

"Just a bit," said McGonagall dryly.

**A moment, later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.**

"Sweet Merlin that man is a coward," said Remus, frowning. "How does he even teach?"

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white.**

"I've seen her angrier," Sirius chirped happily. McGonagall glared sharply at him.

**Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.**

"Really?" Fred asked. "You were thinking that?"

Harry shrugged.

**"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air.**

"I was kind of in shock," admitted Ron.

**"You're lucky you weren't killed.**

"Yes, you were," said Molly.

**Why aren't you in your dormitory?"**

**Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look.**

"He thought I wanted the attention," Harry muttered. Dumbledore frowned, hearing him.

**Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.**

George snorted, and Ron glared at him.

**Then a small voice came out of the shadows.**

**"Please, Professor McGonagall- they were looking for me."**

"Hermione?" asked Tonks in disbelief.

**"Miss Granger!"**

**Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.**

**"I went looking for the troll because I- I thought I could deal with it on my own- you know, because I've read all about them."**

"Hermione? Lying to a teacher?" asked Fred, his eyes wide.

"Miss Granger," said McGonagall in complete disbelief. "You were lying to me?"

Hermione chuckled weakly. "Sorry?" she said.

McGonagall shook her head, still unbelieving.

**Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?**

"That's how we feel," muttered Charlie.

**"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now.**

"That's true," said Hermione.

**Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."**

McGonagall blinked. She had had no idea the girl had been lying.

**Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.**

"You didn't succeed," said Hermione with a laugh.

"I thought you were just scared," spluttered McGonagall. Dumbledore chuckled, patting her arm.

"Let it go, Minerva."

**"Well- in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"**

"She didn't," said Sirius, who seemed to enjoy Hermione's lying. McGonagall glared at him.

**Hermione hung her head.**

"It was the first time I've ever been reprimanded by a teacher," said Hermione.

"And not the last," chuckled Ron.

**Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble.**

"It is a bit hard to believe," nodded Ginny.

**It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.**

Fred shivered. "They'd probably be poisoned," he said.

Dumbledore frowned, but decided to not say anything. Chances are the truth about Severus would be revealed throughout the series.

**"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall.**

"Only five?" asked Sirius in disbelief.

"At that point, I was just glad they were still alive," admitted McGonagall.

**"I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."**

**Hermione left.**

"No way!" said Sirius. "She got off so easy!"

**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.**

"DUN-DUN-DUN!" shouted the twins.

"Do you want me to silence you again?" growled Ginny.

The twins shrank back in their seat.

**"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll.**

"That's right," said Sirius, nodding proudly.

**You each win Gryffindor five points.**

"Only ten points?" asked Sirius, frowning.

"Five after they've taken off Hermione's," added Ginny helpfully.

"Only five points?"

**Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this.**

Dumbledore chuckled. "I was very impressed," he said.

**You may go."**

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**

"They do stink," said Remus, wrinkling his nose.

"You've met one?" asked Sirius, surprised.

"About seven years ago in a forest. Completely disgusting," said Remus, wrinkling his nose.

Sirius frowned. There was a lot that he didn't know about Remus' life after he had been in Azkaban, and Sirius didn't like it.

**"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.**

"Yeah!" said George.

**"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."**

**"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we ****_did _****save her."**

"She wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't made her cry then locked a troll in with her!" snapped Molly.

**"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.**

**"Pig snout," they said and entered.**

**The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up.**

"That was fun," said George with a smile.

"And all that time, you guys were fighting a troll," said Fred, shaking his head.

**Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.**

"Awkward," laughed Tonks.

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend.**

"That's how you became friends?" asked Molly and Sirius in disbelief.

"Yup," said Harry, grinning.

"Wow," muttered Percy, shaking his head.

**There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.**

"End of the chapter," said Ron.

"I wish you could have been friends easier," muttered Molly.

"Who reads next?" asked Ron.

"I will," said Sirius, taking the book. A broad grin spread across his face as he read the name of the next chapter. "Yes!

"Quidditch."

* * *

**A/N: I hoped everyone liked Halloween : )**

**I started a new Harry Potter fanfiction, Lost in Your Eyes. Check it out!**

**And, if you like Rise of the Guardians, I just added a new story called Ice Cold. So… yeah. Look.**

**Thanks so much for reading everyone! The next chapter will be up soon.**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	12. Quidditch

**Harry Potter**

**Hermione Granger**

**Ron Weasley**

**Fred Weasley**

**George Weasley**

**Arthur Weasley**

**Molly Weasley**

**Bill Weasley**

**Charlie Weasley**

**Ginny Weasley**

**Percy Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

**Remus Lupin**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Tonks**

**Neville Longbottom**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Quidditch**

**As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. **

"My favorite season," smiled Ginny.

**Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.**

**The Quidditch season had begun.**

"My favorite season," boasted Sirius. Ginny rolled her eyes.

**On Saturday, Harry would be playing his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin.**

"It's always that," Remus said thoughtfully.

**If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.**

"It must be nice to win," said Sirius.

"You guys never won?" asked Hermione in surprise.

"Not with James and Sirius at the school," said Remus, rolling his eyes. "One year we actually went into the _negatives._"

Sirius took a bow.

**Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret.**

"Right," scoffed Charlie. "A secret at Hogwarts?"

"That's likely," snorted Tonks.

Sirius and Remus grinned at each other. Remus' secret had been kept for years.

**But the new that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn't know which was worse- people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress.**

"I think it'd be the second one," snickered Ron.

"Well, if you think about it, it's a hard choice," said Hermione logically. "Harry is afraid that he will disappoint everyone if he doesn't do well in the match, and therefore is hoping that they won't think too highly of him before they even see him play. That way, if he does mess up, he won't feel quite as bad compared to if everyone was rooting for him. If everyone was telling him that he was going to do great, then he would be terrified that he was going to prove them wrong."

Ron stared at her. "Wait, what?" he asked.

Hermione sighed. "Read, Sirius."

**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend.**

Hermione beamed at Harry.

**He didn't know how he'd have gotten through all his homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do.**

The smile dropped and she glared at Harry.

**She had also lent him ****_Quidditch Through the Ages, _****which turned out to be a very interesting read.**

"The only book worth reading," nodded Charlie, ignoring his mother's glare.

**Harry had learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; **

"I wish I had gone to that one," said Arthur.

**that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that the most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them;**

Molly frowned. "And of course you pick that position," she sighed.

**that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.**

"Er- why?" asked Bill.

"It's a reaction between the magic of the broomsticks and the magic of the balls," said Dumbledore **(A/N: Idk, made that up… :D)**.

**Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it.**

"That, I'll admit, is true," admitted Hermione.

**The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar.**

"But… but that's a third year charm!" said Percy with a blink.

Hermione blushed and shrugged.

**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping.**

"What?" asked Remus curiously while Sirius gave a secret grin.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed.**

"No magic in the corridors," stated McGonagall promptly.

"Although, technically, it is not in the corridors, and therefore is not against the rules," supplied Dumbledore.

McGonagall gaped at him. "Albus!" she said.

"Thanks, Professor!" chorused the twins.

McGonagall glared at Dumbledore, who hummed innocently.

**Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a reason to tell them off anyway.**

"Of course," sneered Sirius.

**"What's that you've got there, Potter?" **

**It was ****_Quidditch Through the Ages. _****Harry showed him.**

**"Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape.**

"What?" cried Fred.

**"Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**

"At least it wasn't more," said Ginny reasonably.

**"He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away.**

"Actually, he didn't," said McGonagall. "To prevent damage, library books are not supposed to be taken outside the school. However, it is often overlooked due to the fact that oftentimes students study outside, so the rule is rarely enforced."

**"Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"**

**"Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.**

"Ron!" chastised Mrs. Weasley, not noticing Sirius giving her youngest son a thumbs up. "Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean you wish they were in pain!"

"Yes, Mum," said Ron, trying not to snicker.

**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them.**

Molly frowned.

** She would never let them copy**

"Good," nodded Molly.

**("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, they got the answers right anyway.**

"Boys," snapped Molly.

"Same with me and James," said Sirius. "Remus here would never let us copy, but what he didn't know was that we stole his homework."

"What?" asked Remus in disbelief.

Sirius chuckled nervously. "Did I say that out loud?"

**Harry felt restless. He wanted ****_Quidditch Through the Ages _****back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape?**

"That's right, Harry! Don't let him scare you!" said Sirius approvingly.

**Getting up, he told Ron and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.**

"Better you than me," said Tonks.

**"Better you than me," they said together,**

"O…kay?" said Tonks, raising an eyebrow.

**but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.**

"Nah, he still would," said Ginny.

**He made his way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.**

**Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try. He pushed the door ajar and peered inside- and a horrible scene met his eyes.**

"What?" asked Neville nervously.

**Snape and Filch were inside, alone.**

The twins wrinkled their noses, making gagging noises.

**Snape was holding his robes above his knees.**

"MENTAL IMAGE!" the twins shouted, covering their eyes and collapsing on top of each other on the ground.

"Minds out of the gutter!" snapped Molly.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered.

**One of his legs was bloody and mangled.**

"What?" asked Tonks.

**Filch was handing Snape bandages.**

**"Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**

"He's going after the stone!" shouted Sirius. "I knew it!"

"No you didn't," said Remus.

"I know now!" Sirius corrected.

"Do not make assumptions, Mr. Black," said Dumbledore quietly. "You do not know the whole story."

"But it's so obvious!" said Sirius.

"You being a murderer was the obvious answer as well," Dumbledore said in a slightly reprimanding voice. "And it was the wrong one. You are jumping into this. Do not make accusations until you have gathered all the facts and know the whole story."

Sirius looked abashed. "Alright," he muttered, settling down and picking up the book again.

**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but-**

"Caught," sang Ron.

**"POTTER!"**

Remus winced. "Stop yelling!" he hissed at Sirius, who smiled innocently.

**Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.**

**"I just wondered if I could have my book back."**

"Really, Harry?" asked Tonks with a snort. Harry shrugged.

**"GET OUT! ****_OUT!_****"**

"There's no reason to frighten him," frowned McGonagall.

**Harry left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor.**

"Smart," nodded Fred.

**He sprinted back upstairs.**

**"Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?"**

**In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen.**

**"You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween!**

Sirius made a '_See-Harry-Agrees-With-Me-Face' _while Harry sighed, realizing how wrong he'd been.

**That's where he was going when we saw him- he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick ****_he _****let that troll in, to make a diversion!"**

"Should have taken you up on that," Ron muttered to Harry, who glared at him.

**Hermione's eyes were wide.**

**"No- he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."**

"I agree with Hermione," said Remus.

"Traitor," muttered Sirius.

**"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron.**

"Not anymore," said Hermione, wrinkling her nose.

**"I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"**

**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same questions. Neville was snoring loudly,**

Neville blushed.

**but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind- he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours-**

"That's right!" Sirius interrupted himself to say. "I nearly forgot."

"Excellent," said Remus. "Now keep reading."

**but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget.**

**The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.**

**"You've got to eat some breakfast."**

**"I don't want anything."**

"Ah, pre-game jitters," nodded Remus.

**"Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.**

**"I'm not hungry."**

"Eat, Harry, dear," cooed Molly.

"_Talking to a book," _mouthed Ron.

**Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field.**

**"Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."**

"Very helpful," said Ginny mockingly.

**"Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.**

Sirius made a face. "Why ruin perfectly good sausages with ketchup?"

"Says the guy who once poured chocolate syrup on a cheeseburger," snorted Remus.

"It was good!" defended Sirius.

**By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.**

**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan**

Everyone snorted.

**up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. It said Potter for President, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different charms.**

"That's a second year charm," said Percy weakly.

**Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).**

"You don't say?" asked George.

**Wood cleared his throat for silence.**

"Okay, men," said Harry.

"And women," said Fred, catching on.

"And women," agreed Harry. "This is it."

"The big one," said Fred.

"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.

"We know Oliver's speech by hear," stated Fred. "We were on the team last year.

"Shut up, you two," snapped Harry. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." He glared at them. "Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."

Everyone looked at them in confusion until Sirius let out a snort. They all looked at him in confusion, and in response, he read.

**"Okay, men," he said.**

**"And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.**

**"And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."**

**"The big one," said Fred Weasley.**

**"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.**

**"We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry. "we were on the team last year."**

**"Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."**

**He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."**

**"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."**

By the end of it, everyone was roaring with laughter. The twins dragged Harry up to take a bow with them. When they calmed down, Sirius picked up the book and started reading again, humor still evident in his voice.

**Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give away, walked onto the field to loud cheers.**

**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.**

**"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her.**

"With Gryffindor and Slytherin? Doubtful," snorted Bill.

**Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year. Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him.**

"I knew his mother. It's not that hard to imagine," Remus said dryly.

**Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.**

Ron and Hermione beamed. "Glad we could help," they said together.

**"Mount your brooms, please."**

**Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

Sirius' read faster as he grew more excited for the match.

**Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.**

**Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.**

**"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor- what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive too-"**

**"JORDAN!"**

**"Sorry, Professor."**

Everyone snorted.

**The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.**

"He'll be awesome," said Sirius with a grin. "Although, not as good as Moony's."

"You commentated?" asked Ginny in surprise.

"Started in my third year," Remus said. "Best commentator there's ever been."

"Except for when we were playing," said Sirius, a frown crossing his face. "He just loved to embarrass me and James. The things he said…" his frown deepened as he remembered different matches and he whacked Remus in the back of the head.

"Ouch!" said Remus. "What was that for?"

"Your commentary!" snapped Sirius. "I'm remembering what you said."

"What'd he say?" asked the twins eagerly.

"Well, I-" started Remus with a laugh.

"Don't say it," interrupted Sirius. "It was a dark and disturbing time for the Gryffindor team. When he was commentating against the Slytherins, however, it was quite amusing."

Remus opened his mouth to say something else, a smirk sliding across his face, but Sirius went back to the book, not letting him talk.

**And she's really belting along up there, neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve- back to Johnson and- no, the Slytherin's have taken the Quaffle,**

There was a groan.

**Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes- Flint flying like an eagle up there- he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle-**

"Yes!" cheered Tonks.

**that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and-OUCH- that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger-**

Everyone winced.

**Quaffle taken by the Slytherins-**

"Damn," cursed Sirius under his breath.

**that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger- sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which-**

"Way to make us feel special, Lee," muttered Fred, the corners of his lips twitching into a smile.

**nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway,**

"Thank you," said George with a bow.

"That was me, you prat," said Fred, rolling his eyes.

**and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes- she's really flying- dodges a speeding Bludger- the goal posts are ahead- come on, now, Angelina- Keeper Bletchley dives- misses- GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"**

"YES!" yelled Sirius, fist-pumping the air. "Take that you slimy, greasy, fuc-"

"That's enough, Sirius," snapped Molly.

**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.**

"Ha!" jeered Fred.

**"Budge up there, move along."**

**"Hagrid!"**

"What?" asked Charlie, blinking. "Hagrid's in the Quidditch match?"

"No, you idiot," said Bill, thumping his brother on the back of the head.

**Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.**

"It changed point of views," observed Hermione. "That's odd."

"…Why?" asked Ron.

Hermione just ignored him.

**"Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck. "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd.**

"It isn't," agreed Arthur.

**No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"**

**"Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."**

**"Kept outta trouble, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry.**

"Yes, stay out of trouble," nodded Molly.

**Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan.**

**"Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."**

"Good plan," said Charlie, nodding. Molly looked alarmed at the mention of Harry being attacked.

**When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings.**

"No, Harry, stay focused on the game," scolded Sirius.

"I _know,_" said Harry exasperatedly. He had only been eleven!

**Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches,**

"Fred!" scolded George.

"That was YOU!"

**and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.**

"Oh, now you can tell us apart," said Fred.

**"All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint.**

**"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the- wait a moment- was that the Snitch?"**

Sirius' voice grew louder as he read furiously, not letting anyone interrupt.

**A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.**

"Idiot," muttered Remus, rolling his eyes.

**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold.**

"Go, Harry," Sirius interrupted himself to mutter, then went back to reading as if he hadn't.

**Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch- all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.**

"They should still be playing," said Tonks, frowning.

**Harry was faster than Higgs- he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead- he put on an extra spurt of speed-**

Everyone leaned in closer, eyes intent on the book. Sirius noticed this, and a small smile flickered across his face.

**WHAM!**

Everyone jumped, and Remus clapped his hand over his ears, wincing. Sirius snickered, unfazed by the glares pointed in his direction, before continuing to read before anyone could yell at him.

**A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below- Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.**

Sirius' good mood disappeared. "Foul!" he shouted in disgust. Everyone else looked outraged. "That was a foul!"

"Yes, Sirius, we know. Now read," said Remus.

**"Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.**

"They get it," muttered Sirius.

**Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.**

Charlie swore under his breath, low enough so that his mother did not hear.

**Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"**

"What's a red card?" asked Percy.

"It's what you get when you do a foul in soccer," said Ron knowingly.

"How do you know?" asked the twins in surprise.

**"What are you talking about, Dean?" said Ron.**

**"Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In soccer you get shown a red card and you're out of the game!"**

Ron chuckled slightly, turning red as everyone looked at him in amusement.

"This isn't soccer," said Remus.

**"But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminded him.**

Ron looked at Remus awkwardly.

**"Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side.**

**"They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."**

"Yes," agreed Molly and Sirius.

**Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.**

"Like any good Gryffindor," agreed Sirius.

**"So- after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-"**

Remus smiled. "So like me," he said approvingly.

**"Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.**

**"I mean, after that open and revolting foul-"**

Everyone snickered. "And with Minnie right there," Sirius said. "Kid has guts."

"Don't encourage him," snapped McGonagall.

**_"Jordan, I'm warning you-"_**

**"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure,**

"Of course," agreed Bill, nodding with a grin.

**so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."**

**It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened.**

"What?" asked Molly nervously.

**His broom gave a sudden, frightening, lurch.**

Everyone frowned, confused.

**For a split second, he thought he was going to fall.**

Molly let out a sharp gasp.

**He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that.**

**It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off.**

"What's going on?" asked Sirius. "He has a Nimbus Two Thousand! This should not be happening?" Worry shone through in his tone, and he was glancing at Harry in between sentences, concerned.

**But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off.**

"Yeah," muttered Bill, just as confused as everyone else.

**Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal posts- he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out- and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control.**

"Oh no," moaned Molly, putting her head in her hands.

**He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.**

"Oh no," moaned Molly again, this time louder. "Oh, Merlin- were you alright?" she demanded to Harry, who just pointed at the book.

**Lee was still commentating.**

"He didn't notice?" asked Tonks incredulously.

**"Slytherin in possession- Flint with the Quaffle- passes Spinnet- passes Bell- hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose- only joking, Professor-**

"Of course he was," muttered Charlie to himself. He had a feeling humor wouldn't exactly be appreciated right now.

**Slytherins score- oh no…"**

**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.**

"This really isn't good," said Remus worriedly.

**"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled.**

"Yes, someone notices," mumbled Sirius.

**He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom… but he can't have…"**

"But he did, so someone help him!" snapped Molly.

**Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just hanging on.**

Molly let out a small shriek, her eyes wide. Sure, she knew that Harry hadn't been killed, but a fall from that high could seriously hurt him.

**Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it.**

"NO!" everyone shouted. Molly went completely white.

**He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.**

Sirius let out a small sigh, his face as white as Molly's. "At least you didn't fall off," he said.

"Yet," muttered Bill darkly.

**"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.**

"That wouldn't be enough," muttered Charlie.

**"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic- no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."**

"Then who…?" Remus said to himself, frowning.

**At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.**

**"What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.**

**"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape- look."**

"He isn't," growled Sirius, eyes narrowing.

**Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath.**

"That bastard!" hollered Sirius. "He's jinxing Harry's broom! He could have killed him!"

"We don't know that, Sirius," reprimanded Remus. "He could be performing a countercurse."

"We'll see," said Sirius, still glowering.

**"He's doing something- jinxing the broom," said Hermione.**

**"What should we do?" **

**"Leave it to me."**

"What will you do?" asked Bill. Hermione just smiled.

**Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. **

"Please be alright," prayed Molly.

**The whole crowed was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto their brooms, but it was no good- every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still.**

The twins frowned at each other. That had been terrifying for them.

**They dropped lower and circled beneath, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.**

"Good," said Molly, smiling at the twins warmly. "You two are good friends."

**Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.**

"Jerk," snapped Tonks.

**"Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately.**

**Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front.**

Remus frowned. Quirrell was being mentioned quite a lot. Something wasn't right here.

**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.**

Everyone went silent for a moment. Then-

"Miss Granger," scolded McGonagall.

"BRILLIANT!" shouted the twins, Sirius, Bill and Charlie. Remus was grinning broadly, giving Hermione a wink.

Percy frowned, deciding not to say anything. He didn't approve of cursing a teacher, but… it was pretty amusing, even he had to admit.

**It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire.**

Everyone snickered **(use logic, you know who I mean by 'everyone')**.

**A sudden yelp told her she had done her job.**

"Take that, Snivellus!" said Sirius with a smirk.

**Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row- Snape would never know what happened.**

"You have earned our respect," said the twins with a nod in Hermione's direction.

**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.**

Everyone visibly relaxed, and Molly let out a relieved little laugh.

**"Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.**

"How sweet," cooed Molly. Neville had turned a bright red, but Harry smiled kindly at him.

**Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick-**

Sirius winced. "That sucks," he said. Harry just grinned broadly, confusing his godfather.

**he hit the field on all fours- coughed- and something gold fell into his hand.**

"Merlin," said Sirius in awe. "You- you-"

"Caught the Snitch- in your mouth?" asked Charlie in disbelief.

"Yup," said Harry, grinning.

"Wow," muttered Remus, shaking his head. "You definitely are James' kid."

**"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.**

"I would imagine," said Sirius, smiling broadly.

**"He didn't ****_catch _****it, he nearly ****_swallowed _****it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference-**

"Yeah," said Charlie. "So stop your whining. He beat you, even with a cursed broom."

**Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results- Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty.**

Everyone cheered, high-fiving Harry and the twins. When they had all settled down, Sirius continued reading.

**Harry heard none of this, though.**

"Why not?" asked Bill.

**He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione.**

"Good," nodded Molly. "That's where you should be after all that."

"I would be soaking up all the attention," said Sirius.

"That's cause your head's bigger than a watermelon," said Remus.

"Hey!" Sirius protested.

**"It was Snape," Ron was explaining. "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."**

The trio exchanged looks, guilty at how fast they had suspected Snape. They had been so naïve…

**"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"**

"Exactly," said Molly, nodding.

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.**

**"I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."**

**Hagrid dropped the teapot.**

**"How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.**

"Fluffy?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"It's the cute names you watch out for," said Charlie, shaking his head.

**"****_Fluffy?_****"**

**"Yeah- he's mine- bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year- I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-"**

"Hagrid," said Sirius fondly.

**"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.**

**"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."**

"And now they'll want to know even more," said Molly with a sigh, accepting the fact that her son and his two friends were too nosy for their own good.

**"But Snape's trying to ****_steal _****it."**

"Exactly," agreed Sirius.

**"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."**

"Exactly," said Remus. Sirius glared at him.

**"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.**

"Exactly!" said Sirius. This time, Remus glared at him.

"Stop it," snapped Tonks.

**The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about SNpae.**

**"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all. I saw him!"**

"You also have to keep eye contact for a counterjinx," reminded McGonagall. Hermione blushed bright red.

**"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student!**

"Exa-"

"Don't make me silence you!" Tonks snapped. Remus snapped his mouth shut.

**Now, listen to me, all three of yeh- yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel-"**

"HAGRID!" everyone shouted in exasperation.

**"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"**

"Drop it," pleaded Molly.

"You know they won't," sighed Arthur, patting his wife on the arm.

**Hagrid looked furious with himself.**

"As he should," muttered Molly.

"That's the end," said Sirius.

Ginny let out a small yawn. Molly glanced at the clock on the wall and let out a small gasp. "It's nearly eleven o'clock! It's time for bed." She took the book out of Sirius' hands and placed it facedown on the table in front of her, standing up.

"But mum!" protested the twins.

"But nothing. We can continue in the morning. Goodnight."

"Er… where do we sleep?" asked Ron, raising an eyebrow.

As if in answer to his question, a door to their right swung open, revealing a hallway. Doors lined on either side of these, and upon further examination, they found that each room had three beds in them, along with dressers that, when opened, revealed clothes fit for the person who opened it.

They all called goodnights to each other and split up into rooms. The pairs were as follows:

Harry, Ron, and Neville

Bill, Charlie, and Percy

Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks

Fred and George

Arthur and Molly

Remus and Sirius

Dumbledore

McGonagall

Neville fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, a soft snore filling the room. Harry and Ron sat down in their own beds, wearing the pajamas they had found.

"Weird day," commented Ron.

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "Very weird."

"What's it like, reading books about your life?" asked Ron.

"It sucks," said Harry. "It really does. Everyone gets to hear my thoughts… it's not fun."

"Cheer up, mate," said Ron. "Think of it this way. After this book, there's only six more to go!"

Harry scowled at him, flopping down on the bed. "Thanks, Ron."

"Goodnight, Harry," said Ron, flipping the light off.

"'Night."

* * *

**A/N: Hehe. Sorry for the wait! I kept meaning to work on this, then something happened and I couldn't, and… yeah.**

**Thanks so much for the awesome reviews! It really means a lot to me and encourages me to write faster, so please keep them coming!**

**Hey, everyone, I need to ask you something. Can you check out my other stroy, Marauders: Year One? It's about the Marauders, and I'm afraid it doesn't get many views. So, if you like my writing here, check it out! I just uploaded a new chapter! It'd mean a lot to me, and I think all you Harry Potter fans would like it : )**

**The next chapter will most probably not be up until after Christmas, due to all the cleaning I still have to do, so Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! God Bless you all!**

**Thank you so much for reading! Hope you liked it!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	13. The Mirror of Erised

**Harry Potter**

**Hermione Granger **

**Ron Weasley**

**Fred Weasley**

**George Weasley**

**Arthur Weasley**

**Molly Weasley**

**Bill Weasley**

**Charlie Weasley**

**Ginny Weasley**

**Percy Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

**Remus Lupin**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Tonks**

**Neville Longbottom**

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Mirror of Erised**

They all woke up early the next morning, eager to start reading again. After a quick breakfast of cereal that they had found in one of the cupboards, they all made their way back to the reading room and sat down in the same spots they had last night.

Charlie grabbed the book and flipped open to the page they had been on. "The Mirror of Erised."

Harry paled, and he glanced sideways at Ron. Ron just shrugged back at him, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. Remus, noticing this exchange, frowned but did not say anything. He would find out when they read the chapter.

**Christmas was coming.**

The twins cheered.

**One morning in mid-December Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.**

"Boys," scolded Molly while the twins snickered.

Hermione's gaze shot to Ron and Harry in alarm. Ron snickered, while Harry smiled ever so slightly, making Hermione irritated that they would laugh at something like this. What would the twins say when they found out they had thrown snowballs at Voldemort?

**The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.**

**No one could wait for the holidays to start.**

"Of course," nodded Sirius in approval.

**While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the window in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.**

"Can't he light a fire or something?" scoffed Sirius.

"The excess heat could tamper with the nature of the potions," said Dumbledore in explanation. "So no, he can't."

**"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."**

"It's a wonder his parents want _him _home," growled Fred.

"This kid's almost as bad as Lucius!" Remus said in disbelief.

"Almost as bad?" Ron asked doubtfully.

"Lucius was bad," Sirius said simply.

**He was looking over at Harry as he spoke.**

"Of course," scoffed Tonks, shaking her head.

**Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them.**

"That's best," nodded Molly.

**Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match.**

"Sore loser," said Sirius.

**Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next. **

"That's not even funny," said Fred, blinking.

"At all," agreed George.

**Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.**

"Jerk," muttered Ginny.

**It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas.**

"Good," muttered Sirius.

**Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays too, and Harry had signed up at once.**

McGonagall sighed. She should have noticed; now that she thought back, the poor boy had been a little _too _eager…

**He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had. Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie.**

"That was wonderful," Molly said, smiling at Charlie.

**When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.**

**"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.**

"Woah!" Fred said.

"Ron wanted to help?" George asked, equally amazed.

"Buzz off," Ron muttered, glaring at them.

"What could an eleven year old do to help carry a tree?" Tonks asked in an amused voice.

"It's the thought that counts," Molly defended her son.

**"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."**

**"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them.**

"Fantastic," moaned Bill. "The prat has arrived."

**"Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose- that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."**

"I'm going to murder him," muttered Fred, going red.

**Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.**

"Wow," Tonks said, "horrible luck."

"You have no idea," Ron and Harry mumbled at the same time.

**"WEASLEY!"**

**Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.**

"At least shake him around a little bit," George complained.

"George!"

**"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."**

"Yeah! Expel him!" Charlie cheered.

**"be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily.**

"That is true," said McGonagall with a nod.

**"Five points from Gryffindor, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."**

"He should have taken points from Slytherin too!" Tonks said. McGonagall frowned sharply at Dumbledore, who nodded in confirmation.

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.**

**"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him-"**

**"I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."**

"Just like his father," Remus muttered to Sirius, who smiled sadly.

**"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."**

Everyone who had seen Hogwarts at Christmas nodded fondly.

**So the three of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.**

**"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree- put it in the far corner, would you?"**

**The hall looked spectacular. Festoons**

Fred and George snickered. "Festoons," they muttered, smirking.

Ginny smacked them. "Grow up," she snapped.

**of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.**

"I miss Hogwarts," Tonks muttered with a sigh.

**"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.**

**"Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me- Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."**

"Ew," George said.

**"Oh, yeah, you're right," said Ron,**

Everyone stared at him.

"What?" he defended.

**tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.**

**"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"**

"Still can't believe Ron's going to the library," Bill said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I read!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yeah, serving sizes," George muttered to Fred.

"Then he ignores it," his twin snickered.

**"Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly.**

"That's the way, Harry!"

"Sirius!"

**"Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."**

"Ohh," everyone said together. Harry and Ron glared at them.

"Boys, that isn't your business," scolded McGonagall.

**"You ****_what_****?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here- I've told yeh- drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."**

"Yes, so leave it be!" Molly pleaded.

**"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.**

"Of course," snorted Charlie.

**"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere- just give us a hint- I know I've read his name somewhere."**

"Hagrid isn't that oblivious," Fred pointed out.

"Flamel…" Remus mused to himself. "I've heard that too, in the book, I'm sure…"

**"I'm sayin' nothin'," said Hagrid flatly.**

**"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," Said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.**

**They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal?**

Harry sighed.

**The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. He wasn't in ****_Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century,_**** or ****_Notable Magical Names of Our Time; _**** he was missing, too, from ****_Important Modern Magical Discoveries, _****and ****_A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry._**

"Oh, he wouldn't be in those," Dumbledore said, a smile playing on his lips.

**And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books, thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.**

"The number of times Remus dragged us in there," Sirius muttered, shaking his head. "He practically _lived _in there."

"My favorite part of the castle," Remus nodded. Sirius rolled his eyes behind his back.

**Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random.**

"Smart," Tonks snorted.

**Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section.**

"You aren't going to get in there," Neville said, shaking his head.

**He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts,**

_For good reason, _Dumbledore thought, frowning to himself.

**and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.**

**"What are you looking for, boy?"**

**"Nothing," said Harry.**

"Wrong answer," Sirius said, shaking his head.

**Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him.**

"Ahh!" screeched the twins, diving to the ground.

Ginny rolled her eyes, pulling out her wand. "_Silencio._"

The twins took one glance at each other, opened their mouths, and started screaming silently.

**"You'd better get out, then. Go on- out!"**

**Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Ron, and Hermione had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. **

"Why? She could tell you," Neville said.

"Read," Harry waved.

**They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.**

"Oh," Neville said, nodding.

**Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other two had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful.**

"Thanks," said Hermione sarcastically.

**They had been looking for two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.**

"In your dreams," Charlie said, shaking his head.

**Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.**

**"You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione.**

"Oh, definitely!" Ginny said, smiling.

"No need to be sarcastic," Harry muttered.

**"And send me an owl if you find anything."**

**"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron.**

"Aren't they Muggles?" Tonks asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was worth a shot!" Ron said.

**"It'd be safe to ask them."**

**"Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.**

Everyone laughed.

"What's a dentist?" Arthur asked eagerly.

"They're… er… doctors that clean teeth," Hermione said.

"Really? And do they-"

"Read, Charlie."

**Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good a time to think much about Flamel.**

"Of course," Ginny laughed, glancing at Harry.

Their eyes met. Both of them froze, staring straight at each other. Ginny felt as if she were getting lost in his eyes, caught up in their brilliant green…

"Harry, what're you looking at?" Ron whispered.

Harry shook himself, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "Nothing," he muttered.

Ginny looked away, her face red. What was going on?

**They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork- bread, English muffins, marshmallows- and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.**

"I know what you mean," Sirius nodded. "We did the same thing- except with Snape."

"Sirius…" Remus sighed.

**Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess.**

"He's rubbish," Ron commented.

**This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family- in this case, his grandfather.**

The Weasley's went red, but Tonks shook her head.

"That's a good thing, with chessmen," she said. "They're much easier to control."

Sirius snorted. "How would you know? You suck at chess."

Tonks glared at him.

**However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.**

**Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him, and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send ****_him, _****we can afford to lose ****_him._****"**

"Those are the worst," sighed Neville. "None of mine trust me."

**On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all.**

"Oh, Harry," Ginny said softly. Harry pointedly looked away as everyone gave him looks of pity.

**When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.**

**"Merry Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.**

**"You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"**

"What'd you think, we wouldn't get you presents?" Hermione asked quietly. Harry shrugged but didn't respond.

**"What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.**

Hermione smacked him in the back of the head. "No tact," she muttered.

"Ouch!" snapped Ron.

"What?" Ginny asked the twins, who were jumping up and down and waving their hands. They motioned to their throats, pleading silently.

"Oh, but it's so _peaceful_," she said, debating it.

They glared at her.

"Oh, all right," she sighed, releasing them from the spell.

"CHRISTMAS!" they immediately shouted.

**Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself.**

"That man is so sweet," Molly cooed.

**Harry blew it- it sounded a bit like an owl.**

**A second, very small parcel contained a note.**

**_We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. _****Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.**

"At least they got me something," Harry shrugged as everyone looked outraged.

**"That's friendly," said Harry.**

"Very," hissed Hermione.

**Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.**

**"****_Weird!_****" he said, "What a shape! This is ****_money?_****"**

"Like father like son," laughed Tonks.

_Merlin help me, _thought Molly desperately as Arthur beamed at Ron.

**"You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was. "Hagrid and my aunt and uncle- so who sent these?"**

**"I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and- oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."**

"And what does that mean?" asked Molly sharply.

Ron laughed nervously. "Nothing, mom."

**Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.**

"Thank you, Molly," said Sirius softly.

Molly smiled gently at him. "My pleasure, Sirius."

**"Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's ****_always _****maroon."**

"You love maroon!" Molly defended. "It's your favorite color!"

"It's my favorite color," Percy muttered. "Ron's is orange."

"Oh, Ron," Molly sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," Ron mumbled. "Really."

**"That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.**

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

Molly beamed at him, trying to cheer up. "Of course, dear."

**His next present also contained candy- a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.**

**This only left one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.**

**Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds.**

"YES!" Sirius shouted. Everyone jumped. "You got it!" he cheered.

Harry grinned. "Yup."

"Got what?" McGonagall asked suspiciously.

Sirius' eyes went wide. "Oh- uh- nothing," he said, sitting back down and not meeting her eyes. Remus hid a grin.

**Ron gasped.**

**"I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavor Beans he'd gotten from Hermione. "If that's what I think it is- they're really rare, and ****_really _****valuable."**

"What is it?" whined Fred.

**"What is it?"**

"Thank you."

**Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.**

Tonks gasped. "No way!" she whispered.

"I'm so lost," George complained.

**"It's an invisibility cloak," said Ron,**

"No way!" Fred exclaimed. Everyone looked amazed.

"An invisibility cloak?" Bill gasped. "That's- that's-"

"Amazing!" Neville said in a hushed voice.

**a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is- try it on."**

**Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell.**

**"It ****_is_****! Look down!"**

**Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone.**

Ginny shivered. "Creepy," she muttered.

**He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in midair, his body completely invisible.**

"Really creepy," agreed Tonks.

**He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.**

"I WANT ONE!" shouted the twins.

"Imagine what we could do with an invisibility cloak!" Fred said excitedly.

"NO!" everyone yelled.

**"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"**

**Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:**

**_Your father left this in my possession before  
he died. It is time it was returned to you.  
Use it well.  
A Very Merry Christmas to you._**

"His father?" asked McGonagall slowly, turning to look at Sirius and Remus. They smiled back at her hopefully. "That's how you snuck around?" she asked, her voice raising.

"Now, Minnie," Sirius said.

Everyone snorted.

"Do not call me that, Mr. Black!" McGonagall snapped. "Do you mean to tell me that James had an _invisibility cloak_? And you four used it to sneak around?"

"Weeell…" said Remus.

McGonagall let out a huff and sat back in her chair. "I can't believe you four," she muttered, crossing her arms.

"Well that went well!" said Charlie cheerfully before going back to the book.

**There was no signature.**

"I wonder who gave him the cloak," Tonks mused.

**Harry stared at the note. Ron was admiring the cloak.**

**"I'd give ****_anything _****for one of these," he said. "****_Anything._**** What's the matter?"**

**"Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the cloak?**

"That's what we want to know," mumbled Bill, a thoughtful expression on his face.

**Had it really once belonged to his father?**

"Oh, yes," said Sirius, grinning. "I remember one time, we snuck out- er-" He cleared his throat and fell silent at McGonagall's glare.

**Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. **

"Yes! We're back!" the twins cheered, high-fiving.

**Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight.**

"Hey!" Fred defended, feigning a hurt expression. "How dare you hide that from us?"

"Do you know how useful it would be?" George asked, sighing.

"_Idiots_," Ginny said, shaking her head.

**He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.**

**"Merry Christmas!"**

**"Hey, look- Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"**

**Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.**

"Were you wearing the wrong ones?" Tonks asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The world will never know," George said in a misty voice, waving his hands around. He looked like he was having a seizure.

**"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."**

"That is not true!" Molly said sharply.

"We were just joking, mum," said George nervously.

**"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."**

**"I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.**

Molly frowned.

**"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid- we know we're called Gred and Forge."**

Everyone snickered as Molly glared at the two boys.

"We love our sweaters, mum," Fred said quickly. "Right Gred?"

"'Course, Forge."

**"What's all this noise?" **

**Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. **

"About what?" Tonks exclaimed, exasperated. Percy turned red.

**He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.**

**"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."**

**"I- don't- want-" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.**

**"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."**

"I wasn't going to," Percy muttered to himself.

**They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.**

"That would have been a sight to see," snorted Sirius.

**Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner.**

"Of course," Molly muttered, eyes flashing at the thought of the Dursleys.

**A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce-**

"I'm hungry," Ron muttered.

"We ate less than an hour ago," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"So?" Ron asked blankly.

**and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside.**

"That sounds boring," George said, frowning thoughtfully.

**Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a real admiral's hat and several live, white mice.**

"Those are probably going to get eaten by Mrs. Norris," Remus winced.

"Devil cat," Sirius muttered. "You know, she bit me once. And all I was doing was painting the staircase green… you'd think it was something bad…"

**Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.**

The Headmaster received more strange looks, while Fred and George shot him a thumbs up.

**Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice.**

Dumbledore chuckled, shaking his head. "Those house elves…"

**Harry watched Hagrid get redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.**

McGonagall blushed, glaring at Harry. _He's far too observant!_

Sirius laughed. "Oh, yeah, drunk McGonagall is the best!"

McGonagall switched her glare to Sirius. "Excuse me?"

"Er- I mean- you're the best professor," he said, nodding solemnly.

**When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of non-explodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit,**

"Ew," said Tonks. "Why would you want a wart?"

"My mum had plenty enough to go around," Sirius snickered. "One of them was right on her-"

"Moving on!" Molly said loudly.

**and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.**

"Every year," Bill nodded.

"Hey!" said Sirius excitedly, turning to Remus. "Remember Chester?"

"That mouse you kidnapped in first year?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Sirius said. Then he frowned. "I miss him."

Remus snorted. "You had him for a day."

"He was awesome!" **(A/N: For those of you who haven't read it, this little 'adventure' is part of my other story, Marauders: Year One. If you haven't read it yet, check it out! I may be adding in another few little parts like that later on… the Marauders are just awesome!)**

**Harry and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.**

"Sorry," Percy said sheepishly. Harry waved him off, grinning.

**After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.**

"Boys," sighed Molly, "do you have to do these things to your brother?"

"This happened four years ago," Fred pointed out.

"Yes, but still. Apologize to your brother."

"Sorry, Perce," the twins muttered.

Percy smiled lightly. "It's fine."

**It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day.**

"What?" asked Sirius, frowning.

Tonks smacked the back of his head. "The cloak, you twat."

"Wha- oh yeah!" Sirius said. Tonks shook her head.

"He's a lost cause," she muttered.

**Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak and whoever had sent it.**

**Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster. Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it.**

"Use the cloak, Harry," said George in a deep voice. "Use the cloak…"

"Er- what are you doing?" Charlie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Obviously I'm advising Harry to use that freaking awesome cloak of his," George said, giving him a 'well, duh' face.

"This is a book," Charlie said, pointing to it.

"And that's a table," George said, pointing to the table. "Now read."

Charlie rolled his eyes and started reading.

**His father's… this had been his father's. **

Sirius' jaw clenched.

**He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. ****_Use it well,_**** the note had said.**

**He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows.**

"That would feel… funny," Ginny said, frowning.

**It was a very funny feeling.**

"Looks like Harry agrees with you, Gin-Gin," Fred said, smirking. Ginny felt a blush spread across her face. She glanced sideways at Harry and was surprised to see that he had red cheeks too.

**_Use it well._**

"So you're going to sneak out," Molly said, raising an eyebrow.

**Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak.**

"Yup, he's going to sneak out," George agreed.

**Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.**

**Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him?**

"Yes," Ron muttered sullenly.

**Something held him back- his father's cloak- he felt that this time- the first time- he wanted to use it alone.**

"I guess I understand," Ron admitted.

**He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.**

**"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady.**

Remus chuckled. "We had her convinced there was a ghost entering and leaving the common room."

"That was you too?!" McGonagall exclaimed, eyebrows raised.

**Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor.**

**Where should he go? He stopped, his heart racing, and thought.**

"The kitchen!" Fred cheered.

"The Professor's offices!" George added.

"The astronomy tower!"

"The girls bathroom!"

"GEORGE!"

**And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library.**

"The library?!" asked Fred, George, and Sirius together.

"Please be joking," Fred pleaded.

**He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was.**

"Harry, you're disowned," George said flatly.

Harry rolled his eyes.

**He set off, drawing the invisibility cloak tight around him as he walked.**

**The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even though Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps.**

"That would be freaky," Neville shivered.

**The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.**

"You know, the Restricted Section should really have more protecting it then a rope," Tonks noted.

"Oh, it does," Dumbledore said. "And I'm sure Harry found that out quite quickly."

Harry smiled sheepishly.

**They didn't tell him much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood.**

"Probably was," Remus said grimly. "You shouldn't be back there."

**The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a fain whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.**

"Remind me to never go in the Restricted Section," Ginny grimaced.

"The books can be quite useful if you choose correctly," McGonagall said.

**He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting looking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open.**

"Something tells me this isn't going to end well," muttered Percy.

**A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence- the book was screaming!**

"Okay, remind me not to go in the _library _ever again," Ginny corrected, paling.

Harry had a feeling he knew what she was thinking about. She and talking books didn't mix well, what with the incident in her first year. Wanting to reassure her, he took her hand and gave it a gently squeeze.

Ginny smiled shakily at him, grateful, and clung onto his hand.

**Harry snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting not.**

"Shoot, he's going to get caught," Sirius said worriedly.

**He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once.**

"Slick," snickered Fred.

**Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside- stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch in the doorway;**

"Wow, your luck is horrible!" Bill said.

"It gets worse," Harry said, shaking his head.

"_Much _worse," Hermione agreed.

"Definitely," Ron grimaced.

The adults moaned.

**Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him, and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in his ear.**

"Yes! You're safe!" cheered Sirius.

**He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.**

"Er- Harry?" asked Charlie. "There are suits of armor all over the place."

"Yeah, like every two feet," snickered Bill.

"Shut up," Harry muttered. "I was eleven."

**"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library- Restricted Section."**

**Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."**

"Wow, your luck does get worse!" Tonks marveled.

**Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him- the cloak didn't stop him from being solid.**

Remus started having a coughing fit. Sirius looked at him, concerned.

"Remus, are you alright?"

"Cough- Sirius- cough-" Remus choked out.

Scowling, Sirius sat back in his seat. "I am never asking if you're okay again," Sirius muttered as Remus sat up and grinned, his fake cough forgotten.

"What happened?" George asked eagerly.

"Sirius here barreled straight into Professor McGonagall one night," Remus snorted. "Forgot he was solid."

"That was you?" McGonagall asked, bewildered. "I thought it was Peeves!"

"This book really isn't helping our relationship," Sirius sighed.

**He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything.**

"I guess being a scrawny git does help!" George said cheerfully.

"He's not scrawny," Ginny snapped. Harry went red, trying to ignore their still joined hands.

**They walked straight past, and Harry leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in.**

**It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket- but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.**

"What the hell?" Sirius said.

"Sirius! Language!" Molly snapped.

"I'm not your child," Sirius pointed out.

"Sirius…" Molly said in a warning tone.

"Yes, Molly," Sirius muttered.

**It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: ****_Erised stra ehru oyt tube cafru oyt on wohsi._**

"Anyone have any idea what that means?" Fred asked after a moment of silence.

"Let me see it," said Hermione, taking the book.

She examined it for a second before handing it back to Charlie. "I show not our face but your heart's desire," she said.

"Huh?" Neville asked.

"It's mirror writing," Hermione explained. "It's written backwards. If you place it in front of a mirror, you could read it."

"How'd you get that so fast?" Sirius asked, eyes raised.

Hermione shrugged. "It was easy."

"Of course," Ron muttered fondly.

**His panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again. He stepped in front of it.**

"And the room exploded!" Fred yelled, startling everyone.

Ginny pulled her hand out of Harry's and put her hand on her wand.

"Alright, alright, I'll shut up!" Fred yelped.

**He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming.**

"What?" Sirius asked, alarmed. "What is it?"

Harry determinedly looked at the ground, not meeting anyone's eyes. Ginny watched him with concern, confused.

**He whirled around. His heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed- for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him.**

Everyone glanced at each other, bewildered, except Harry and Ron. Ron looked at Harry, worried, but Harry still wasn't looking at anyone.

**But the room was empty.**

"I show not your face but your heart's desire," Remus muttered, frowning.

**Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror.**

**There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder- but still, no one was there.**

"So confused," George muttered.

**Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not?**

"That would be scary," Fred snickered. "What if there were a ton of invisible people in every classroom, and-"

"Shh," Ginny hushed him, motioning to Harry. Fred went quiet.

**He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air- she and the others existed only in the mirror.**

Remus paled. _No,_ he thought. _No, Harry doesn't need this…_

**She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes- ****_her eyes are just like mine, _****Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green- exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time.**

Everyone let in a sharp intake of breath as they realized who Harry was seeing. Molly and McGonagall's eyes filled with tears, and Sirius and Remus had gone white.

"Lily," Sirius said hoarsely.

Ginny glanced at Harry, who was ducking his head and picking at the couch. She swallowed the lump in her throat and reached for his hand. _It's time for me to comfort him, _she thought as she held his hand.

Harry didn't look at her, but he squeezed her hand tightly.

"Oh, dear," Tonks said quietly. "He wants a family."

**The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did.**

Sirius let out a strangled noise, clenching his jaw. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath.

Next to him, Remus was in a similar state. He put his head in his hands.

Tonks hesitated slightly before standing up and sitting in-between her cousin and friend. She took each of their hands, leaning her head on Remus' shoulder to provide comfort for them both.

Remus smiled tightly at her, while Sirius just stared at the ground, feeling the still new pain of his best friend's death.

**Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.**

**"Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?"**

Molly let out a small sound, tears brimming in her eyes. It was _heartbreaking. _

**They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees-**

Fred and George didn't say anything to poke fun at Harry's knees. They glanced at each other before looking back at the floor.

**Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.**

"Oh, Harry," McGonagall whispered, sighing sadly.

**The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.**

Neville frowned. That didn't sound very good to him…

Ginny let go of Harry's hand and instead put her arm around him, drawing him in close. He leaned against her, hiding his face from view. She knew he hated the looks of pity he was getting, and she also knew that the last thing that he wanted to do was relive all of this, especially right after what happened in the graveyard. For a moment, she felt a strong burst of loathing towards whoever had sent them here for putting Harry through this.

**How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.**

"No."

Everyone looked at Sirius in surprise, taking in his sharp tone of voice. It was enough to bring Harry's eyes up to look at his godfather in confusion.

"You shouldn't go back," Sirius said, still pale. "It's not healthy for you."

"I know," Harry said softly. "I find that out very quickly."

He sat up, and Ginny released him and took his hand instead. Harry gave her a small smile, which she easily returned.

**"You could have woken me up," said Ron, crossly.**

Hermione sighed. "Ron," she said softly.

"I know," muttered Ron.

**"You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror."**

Remus sighed, shaking his head. Tonks was still leaning against his shoulder, her eyes shut, and he had to admit he kind of liked it.

Wait, what?

**"I'd like to see your mom and dad," said Ron eagerly.**

"I don't think that's how it works," said Arthur quietly.

**"And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone."**

"You can see them anytime," Fred said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "Everyone comes to our house in the summer, just stop by."

It worked slightly. A few people quirked a smile at him.

**"You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer.**

That worked better. A few people chuckled as Fred's eyes widened. "Dear Merlin, I think like Ron," he said softly. "Someone call St. Mungo's!"

"Ah, can it," muttered Ron.

**Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people.**

"Ronald!" Hermione cried, smacking his shoulder.

"Ouch!" Ron hissed, grabbing his arm.

"What were you thinking?" Hermione snapped. "Have you absolutely any tact at all?"

"I was eleven, 'Mione," Ron said.

"That doesn't give you an excuse to be like that," Hermione hissed at him.

**Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?**

**Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the three-headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it really?**

"I don't like what that mirror is doing to you," said Sirius, frowning.

"It sounds dangerous," Neville said softly, shooting a glance at Sirius. Sure, he was, by now, mostly assured that Sirius wasn't going to kill him while he was sleeping, but he still didn't really feel comfortable actually _talking _to him.

"Yes," Sirius agreed. "Definitely dangerous. Harry, don't go near that mirror anymore!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sirius, this happened four years ago.

"Yes, but still," Sirius muttered, oblivious to Neville, who was looking at him in surprise.

**"Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd."**

"Thanks for that deduction, Ron," said George.

**What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again.**

"That sounds like that would be best," said Percy.

**With Ron covered in the cloak, too, they had to walk much slowly the next night. They tried retracing Harry's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.**

**"I'm freezing," said Ron. "Let's forget it and go back."**

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ron's right," Ginny nodded.

"Yeah, I- hey!" Ron said.

**"****_No!_****" Harry hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."**

**They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. Just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit of armor.**

**"It's here- just here- yes!"**

"No," Sirius moaned.

**They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the cloak from around his shoulders and ran to the mirror.**

**There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him.**

Harry winced slightly, and Ginny squeezed his hand.

**"See?" Harry whispered.**

**"I can't see anything."**

"He would see something different," said Arthur, slightly curious as to what his youngest son would see in the mirror.

**"Look! Look at them all… there are loads of them…"**

**"I can only see you."**

**"Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."**

Everyone was curious now, wondering what Ron would see. Ron blushed to the roots of his flaming hair and sunk low in his seat.

**Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family anymore, just Ron in his paisley pajamas.**

**Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.**

Molly bit her lip.

**"Look at me!" he said.**

"What?" George asked eagerly. Ron covered his face with his hands, embarrassed.

**"Can you see all your family standing around you?"**

**"No- I'm alone- but I'm different- I look older- and I'm head boy!"**

The twins couldn't help but snort. "_That's _your heart's desire?" they smirked.

"I don't think that's all of it," Arthur said thoughtfully.

**"****_What?_****"**

**"I am- I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to- and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup- I'm Quidditch captain, too!"**

"_What?_" everyone asked. Ron just shook his head, and Harry didn't say anything.

**Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.**

**"Do you think this mirror shows the future?"**

"How can it?" Sirius asked flatly. "James and Lily are- well- you know."

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. Tonks smiled tightly from where she still sat perched next to him.

**"How can it? All my family are dead- let me have another look-"**

**"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."**

**"You're only holding the Quidditch cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents."**

**"Don't push me-"**

"Oh, dear, now they're fighting over it!" Molly exclaimed. "I really don't like that mirror…"

"Yes, I wish I knew what it was doing there," McGonagall said, shooting a glance at Dumbledore.

**A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.**

"Quick, the cloak," Bill muttered.

**"Quick!" **

**Ron threw the cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door. Ron and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing- did the cloak work on cats?**

"I think she can smell you," Remus said. "We almost got caught by her hundreds of times."

**After what seemed an age, she turned and left. **

**"This isn't safe- she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on."**

**And Ron pulled Harry out of the room.**

"Yes, now don't go back," Ginny pleaded.

**The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.**

**"Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron.**

**"No."**

**"Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?"**

**"No… you go…"**

"You need something to get your mind off it," Tonks said.

**"I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight."**

"Yes! Thank you," Molly sighed in relief.

**"Why not?"**

**"I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it- and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"**

"Hm," said Hermione, frowning. "That was… actually good advice, Ron."

"Always the tone of surprise," Ron muttered.

**"You sound like Hermione."**

"And is that a bad thing?" said Hermione sharply, looking at him.

"Of course not!" said Harry hurriedly. "I meant it as a compliment, because that was- er- such good advice."

Hermione narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but turned back to the book.

**"I'm serious, Harry, don't go."**

**But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.**

"That mirror shouldn't be there," said Molly, frowning at Dumbledore. "Anyone could stumble across it."

"It was there for a reason," Dumbledore assured her, inclining his head.

**That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone.**

"You got lucky," Charlie said. "You could have been caught."

**And there were his mother and father smiling at him again, and one of his grandfathers nodding happily. Harry sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop him from staying here all night with his family. Nothing at all.**

"Harry, as your godfather, I command you to leave the mirror alone!"

Harry rolled his eyes, deciding to humor his godfather. "Alright, Sirius."

"Good boy," Sirius praised, nodding.

**Except-**

**"So- back again, Harry?"**

"Shoot!" Fred said. "Run!"

"Wait," said George, "if it was Filch or Snape, he'd be dead by now. So I think he's okay."

**Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore.**

"Oh, thank Merlin," Molly sighed. "Albus will be able to get the mirror out of your system."

**Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.**

**"I- I didn't see you, sir."**

**"Strange how nearsighted being invisibly can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.**

"You're not going to get in trouble," Bill said. "Lucky."

"How do you know?" asked Neville nervously.

Bill shrugged. "Professor Dumbledore's smiling. That's good."

Dumbledore smiled at him.

**"So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."**

"Delights; right," muttered Remus.

Tonks sat up off his shoulder as if realizing what she was doing, a blush spreading across her face. Releasing his hand, she quickly stood up and hurried back to her seat, leaving a slightly disappointed Remus behind.

**"I didn't know it was called that, sir."**

**"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"**

**"It- well- it shows me my family-"**

**"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."**

"Still don't get that," Fred muttered, shaking his head.

"That's a perfectly acceptable desire," Percy countered, frowning. "It means he wants to go far in life."

Fred rolled his eyes.

**"How did you know-?"**

**"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently.**

"Cool!" George said. "I wanna be invisible!"

"I thought we already made it quite clear you _cannot_ become invisible," Ginny snapped. "That would be dangerous."

"That's what makes it fun!"

**"Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"**

**Harry shook his head.**

**"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"**

"'I show not your face but your heart's desire'," Hermione quoted, nodding.

**Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want… whatever we want…"**

"Or you could say it that way," Hermione said with a small laugh.

**"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them.**

Everyone looked at Ron, surprised. Ron hid his face in his hands with a small moan.

"I _hate _this book."

"Ron," said Arthur gently.

"I know, I know," Ron snapped. "We already talked about this."

His brothers looked at each other, ashamed of themselves. Perhaps they should have been more supportive to Ron growing up; maybe he wouldn't feel this way then.

**However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.**

**"The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again.**

"Thank you," Molly sighed.

**If you ever ****_do _****run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"**

"Wise as always, Professor," Remus said quietly.

Dumbledore smiled lightly at him. "You flatter me, Remus. This book is showing me that not all my decisions have been wise in regards to Harry's welfare."

"You did the best you could," Remus said firmly. "As much as I hate to admit it, it was probably good for him to grow up away from the fame."

Dumbledore nodded once. "Thank you, Remus. I'm glad you think so."

**Harry stood up.**

**"Sir- Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"**

**"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled.**

Everyone chuckled, the mood in the room considerably lighter than it had been earlier.

**"You may ask me one more thing, however."**

**"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"**

"Harry, that's personal," Ginny scolded.

"I know," said Harry sheepishly.

**"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."**

Everyone stared at the headmaster. Finally, the twins couldn't take it, and they burst into laughter.

"Fred! George!" Molly hissed. "Don't be so disrespectful!"

"It's quite alright, Molly," said Dumbledore, smiling in amusement.

"Woolen- socks!" Fred choked, cracking up.

**Harry stared.**

Their laughter doubled.

**"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore.**

"Very true," nodded Tonks solemnly, her lip twitching.

**"Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."**

"We'll get you socks this year, Professor!" Fred said cheerfully once they had calmed down. "Right, Gred?"

"Most definitely, Forge!"

Dumbledore laughed. "I would love a pair, thank you."

**It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful.**

"You didn't honestly think he was telling the truth, did you?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was late at night," Harry muttered.

**But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow,**

Harry grimaced and Sirius hissed in anger.

**it had been quite a personal question.**

"Just a bit," said Ginny sarcastically.

"That's the end," Charlie said, fingering the page.

There was a silence as everyone digested what they had read. There was still a lingering sadness in the air.

Finally, Percy cleared his throat. "I'll read," he said quietly, taking the book.

"Nicolas Flamel."

* * *

**A/N: Hehe.**

***ducks head in shame***

**I am SO sorry for the delay! Time got away from me… I thought I was on track, and I check the date, and I'm a month late! That was totally my bad, and I apologize.**

**On the upside, I'd like to thank everyone for the awesome reviews, they mean a lot! Please, keep them coming!**

**And if it takes this long for another update ever again, you have my permission to pester me until I do it.**

**I'll try REALLY REALLY hard to get the next chapter up soon, I swear! **

**Thanks so much for reading!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	14. Nicolas Flamel

**Harry Potter**

**Hermione Granger **

**Ron Weasley**

**Fred Weasley**

**George Weasley**

**Arthur Weasley**

**Molly Weasley**

**Bill Weasley**

**Charlie Weasley**

**Ginny Weasley**

**Percy Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

**Remus Lupin**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Tonks**

**Neville Longbottom**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Nicolas Flamel**

"Aha! So we get to find out who he is!" Sirius said happily.

**Dumbledore had convinced Harry not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again, and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the invisibility cloak stayed folded at the bottom of his trunk.**

"Okay, I get that the mirror is bad and all," Fred said, "but why is the cloak not being used?!"

**Harry wished he could forget what he'd seen in the mirror as easily, but he couldn't. He started having nightmares. Over and over again, he dreamed about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light, while a high voice cackled with laughter.**

"Harry, you shouldn't have to go through that," Hermione said sympathetically.

Sirius was frowning hard at the book and seemed to be deep in thought.

**"You see, Dumbledore was right, the mirror could drive you mad," said Ron, when Harry told him about these dreams.**

"Ron: always the sympathetic one," Ginny said, shaking her head.

**Hermione, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of things. She was torn between horror at the idea of Harry being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If Filch had caught you!"), and disappointment that he hadn't at least found out who Nicolas Flamel was.**

"Only Hermione," chuckled Charlie.

"Well, it was true! He would have been in loads of trouble if he had been caught, and I was really hoping to find out who Flamel was," defended Hermione.

**They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, even though Harry was still sure he'd read the name somewhere.**

Harry groaned, putting his head in his hands. "Merlin, I was stupid."

"Hey, cheer up, mate. I didn't remember either!" Ron said cheerfully.

Everyone looked at them, confused. Hermione waved them off.

**Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry had even less time than the other two, because Quidditch practice had started up again.**

"Yes!" cheered Sirius.

**Wood was working the team harder than ever.**

"I don't think anyone can work a team as hard as James," Sirius shivered.

"Wood did," Fred, George, and Harry said together.

**Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits.**

"Why would it?" asked Sirius, confused.

"It's just a game!" Molly said, throwing her hands in the air.

"It's not just a game, Mum!" Fred said, rolling his eyes.

**The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Harry was on Wood's side.**

"You're not allowed to become captain," George said, pointing at Harry.

**If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the house championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, Harry found that he had fewer nightmares when he was tired out after training.**

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Ginny muttered.

**Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.**

"Can you two _ever _be mature?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Where's the fun in that?" Fred asked.

**"Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"**

"Woah, woah, woah, Snape's refereeing?" Sirius asked. "Who the hell let him do that?"

"Sirius!" Molly scolded.

"Sirius, let it go," Remus sighed.

"No!" Sirius snapped. "He's going to kill Harry!"

"I'm right here," Harry pointed out helpfully.

"Shut up, Harry, I'm worrying about you," Sirius said, frowning. Harry stared at him in disbelief.

**George Weasley really did fall off his broom at these words.**

Ginny snorted. "Slick."

"Hey, I was surprised!"

**"****_Snape's _****refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."**

"Exactly!" said Sirius. "Add that to the list of reasons to kick Snape out of Hogwarts."

**The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.**

**"It's not ****_my _****fault," said Wood.**

"He's got a point," Ginny pointed out.

**"We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."**

**Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was playing Quidditch…**

"Oh, that's right, Snape's trying to kill him," Bill said, nodding.

"Oh, grow up, he's not trying to kill him," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

**The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where he found Ron and Hermione playing chess. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her.**

Ron gave her a weak smile while Hermione glared and crossed her arms.

**"Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him, "I need to concen-"**

Ginny snorted. "Concentrate? Ron?"

"Shut up!" Ron said, frowning at her.

**He caught sight of Harry's face. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible."**

Tonks laughed. "That's something everyone wants to hear."

**Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Harry told the other two about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.**

"Sinister?" Tonks asked doubtfully. "Don't you think that's going a bit over the top?"

"It's Harry," Hermione said as if that explained anything.

"Hey!" Harry defended.

**"Don't play," said Hermione at once.**

"Hermione!" Fred and George cried in outrage.

**"Say you're ill," said Ron.**

**"Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.**

"Madam Pomfrey would try to heal it," Ginny said immediately.

**"****_Really _****break your leg," said Ron.**

Ginny thumped him in the back of the head. "_Idiot,_" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Oi!" Ron said, rubbing the back of his head.

**"I can't," said Harry. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."**

"That's right, we need you!" Fred said.

**At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor tower.**

"Oh, you poor dear!" Molly exclaimed as Neville went a deep shade of red.

**Everyone fell over laughing except Hermione, who leapt up and performed the countercurse.**

Several glares were sent towards Harry, Ron, and the twins. Fred and George put their hands up. "We weren't there," they said together.

"Sorry Neville," Ron said sheepishly.

"It's fine," Neville said hurriedly. "Thanks, Hermione," he added to the bushy haired witch.

Hermione beamed. "You're welcome."

**Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling. **

**"What happened?" Hermione asked him, leading him over to sit with Harry and Ron.**

**"Malfoy," said Neville shakily. **

"Of course," Bill muttered angrily, shaking his head in disgust.

**"I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."**

"That no good snobby prat, thinks he can do whatever he wants, when I get my hands on him I'm going to take him by that stupid blond hair and rip off his-"

"That's enough, George."

**"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged Neville. "Report him!"**

"Yes, I would set that boy in his place," McGonagall said, nodding.

**Neville shook his head.**

McGonagall looked taken aback.

**"I don't want any more trouble," he mumbled.**

"Why, Mr. Longbottom, you must tell me these things!" McGonagall said.

"You can't let him get away with stuff like that," Ginny nodded.

**"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."**

"That's nice advice, Ron, but I don't think you phrased it very well," Charlie noted.

**"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.**

"Oh, Neville, don't ever say that!" Ginny said. "Of course you're brave enough to be in Gryffindor! Watch, sometime during these books you're going to save the day, I promise you."

Neville looked at her doubtfully, shrugging.

"No, I think she's right, Neville," Tonks cut in. "You have a lot of potential, you just need to find out how to use it."

Charlie looked at her, shocked. "Since when did you get so smart?"

Tonks huffed, her hair turning a shade of purple. "I am smart!"

Charlie snorted, and Tonks stuck her tongue out at him.

**Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry.**

**"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said.**

"Aw, you are _so _sweet," Molly cooed, looking at Harry, who smiled awkwardly.

**"The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."**

"Now, I wouldn't go that far," Hermione protested. "Slytherin has wonderful qualities too; we've just had bad experiences with a few of its members."

Ron raised his eyebrows at her.

**Neville's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog. **

**"Thanks, Harry… I think I'll go to bed… D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"**

Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, frowning.

**As Neville walked away, Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.**

"Hey!" Fred suddenly said. "Why doesn't Harry have a card?"

"No," Harry said immediately.

"Yeah!" George said. "You are totally famous enough for one! I can just picture it now…"

"Guys, I do _not _want a Chocolate Frog card!" Harry exclaimed.

The twins ignored him. "_Harry Potter, resident scrawny, noble, prat of Gryffindor tower, is known for defeating the most powerful wizard of all time when he was a freaking baby. Yes, that shows some mad skills, but you can hardly tell from his specky appearance. Harry enjoys Quidditch, catching dark wizards, and Potions class with his favorite teacher, Professor Severus-_"

"Shut up!" Harry said, causing everyone to laugh harder than they already were. "I swear, if they _do _get me a Chocolate Frog card…" he trailed off in a warning manner.

**"Dumbledore again," he said, "He was the first one I ever-"**

**He gasped. He stared at the back of the card.**

"What?" Sirius asked, blinking.

"We don't know yet, stop interrupting, Sirius," Remus shushed him.

**Then he looked up at Ron and Hermione.**

**"****_I've found him!_****" he whispered.**

"Found who?" Percy asked, frowning.

Tonks gasped. "Nicolas Flamel?"

Harry just shook his head, groaning.

**"I've found Flamel!**

"On the back of a Chocolate Frog card?" Bill asked doubtfully.

**I ****_told _****you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here- listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, ****_and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'_****!"**

Everyone stared at the book, their jaw dropped. The trio sat there sheepishly, Ron's ears turning red.

Slowly, Ginny turned to them. "Do you mean to tell me it was on the back of a _Chocolate Frog card _this entire time?!"

"Er… yes?" Harry asked more than said.

Ginny rounded on Ron. "You practically live on Chocolate Frogs! How could you not remember this!"

"Well excuse me, I can't remember everything I read!" Ron defended, glaring at him.

Fred burst out laughing. "All… that… work… in the… library!" he gasped in between laughter. "It was a _waste!_"

"Shut it," Ron muttered irritably.

"Why didn't _you _remember?" Sirius asked Remus, emotion playing in his voice. "You have a pretty bad chocolate addition, you must go through at least twenty Frogs a day."

"I do not!" Remus exclaimed.

Sirius sighed. "How many Dumbledore's do you have?" he asked.

"351," Remus said, before going red. "Um- I mean- 3."

Sirius burst into laughter, adding to the already loud atmosphere.

"Alright, alright, once everyone's through laughing at us, can we keep reading?" Ron said loudly.

When everyone had calmed down enough, Percy picked up the book and started reading again, a smile still on his face.

**Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.**

"Hey!" Hermione said as everyone burst into fresh laughter.

"That is so true," Ron said, chuckling.

Hermione frowned, crossing her arms and glaring at her feet.

And something seemed to click in Ron. Hermione actually looked a bit _upset__**, **_even though they were all just teasing. He could see hurt in her brown eyes, although they appeared angry on the outside. Their laughter had actually hurt her feelings.

Stopping his laughter, Ron placed a comforting arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Hey, we're just joking," he said quietly so no one else could hear. Hermione glanced at him, a frown still stretched across her face. "We don't mean anything by it, honest; we're your friends, and we love everything about your personality, _especially_ towards your schoolwork."

Hermione went red, and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Thanks, Ron," she whispered, leaning into her friend's side.

Ron looked slightly alarmed, but didn't extricate his arm. He shot a nervous glance at Harry, who grinned and nodded.

When Ron wasn't looking, Harry and Ginny exchanged knowing looks before they both looked away, smirking to themselves.

**"Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Harry and Ron barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.**

**"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."**

Sirius stared blankly at the book. "_Light?"_ he asked incredulously. "That's _light?_"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Sirius, just because you've never read a book doesn't mean other people don't."

"I read!" Sirius countered.

"Besides _Quidditch Through the Ages._"

Sirius opened his mouth to speak, then shut it, frowning thoughtfully.

**"****_Light?_****" said Ron, but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself.**

"Ah, young love," Fred sighed dreamily.

Ron and Hermione's eyes widened. They looked at each other, still intertwined, and immediately jumped away, spluttering.

"I-"

"We're not-"

"That's _absurd-_"

"Lighten up, I was just teasing," Fred chuckled. When the two blushing teens looked away, he winked at George.

**At last she found what she was looking for. **

**"I knew it! I ****_knew _****it!"**

Dumbledore shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. These children were extraordinarily smart for such a young age, it simply mystified him. They'd already done so much, even at the age of fifteen. Why, when he was their age-

He stopped, his smile dropping. _No, he wasn't going to think about that now, _he thought firmly.

**"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily. Hermione ignored him.**

"Story of their life," Ginny muttered in an undertone to Harry, who snorted.

**"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the ****_only known make of the Sorcerer's Stone!_****"**

There was a silence in the room. McGonagall sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, while Remus stared at the book, wide-eyed.

"Of course," he murmured to himself.

"Well, I don't know about everyone else, but that was slightly anti-climactic," Sirius said, blinking.

Hermione rolled her eyes as everyone else murmured just as blankly. "Honestly, does no one read?" she muttered to herself, noting that no one under twenty-five (and Sirius) seemed to get it.

**This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.**

**"The what?" said Harry and Ron.**

**"Oh, ****_honestly, _****don't you two read?**

Hermione blinked at the book, surprised at saying nearly the same thing four years ago.

**Look- read that, there."**

**She pushed the book toward them, and Harry and Ron read:**

**_The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary  
substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold.  
It alsoproduces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.  
There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only  
Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and  
opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year,  
enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight)._**

There was a silence for a moment as everyone took it in.

"Merlin, that's _old,_" Fred finally said.

Ginny sighed. "Honestly, is that all you took in?"

Fred blinked. "Er, his wife's old too?"

"No wonder everyone's after it," Tonks said thoughtfully. "Who wouldn't want an elixir of life?"

"I wouldn't," Neville said quietly. "I wouldn't want to live forever."

"Yes, neither would I," Sirius agreed. "Imagine living on, watching all of your friends and family die without you. I think it'd be a rather horrible existence."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, that's what I thought as well. It wouldn't be a life I'd want."

"So Snape's after the Stone," Charlie mused. "Go figure."

"We don't know he's after it," Molly reprimanded.

"It's pretty obvious, Molly," Sirius said.

Molly shot a glare at him.

"Right then, reading on," Percy said hurriedly.

**"See?" said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"**

"Very observant, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, nodding.

**"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! ****_Anyone _****would want it."**

**"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that ****_Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry,_****" said Ron.**

"Yes, he wouldn't be recent," nodded Charlie.

**"He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"**

"That's so old!" George said. "How awesome would that be? We could play pranks forever!"

Everyone but his twin shuddered. Fred just grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

**The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating ways of treating werewolf bites,**

Remus grimaced.

**Harry and Ron were still discussing what they'd do with a Sorcerer's Stone if they had one.**

"Boys," Ginny sighed.

**It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.**

"Oh, that's right," Charlie said, grimacing. "I forgot about that."

**"I'm going to play," he told Ron and Hermione.**

"Yes, stick it out!" Tonks cheered.

**"If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them… it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."**

"I can't wait," Sirius grinned.

**"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Hermione.**

Bill snorted. "Real supportive, Hermione."

**As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, whatever he told Ron and Hermione.**

"We could tell," Hermione commented.

**The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?**

"You're Gryffindor; you can do it!" Arthur said supportively.

**Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went.**

Fred shivered. "Stuff of nightmares, that is."

**At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own.**

Molly sighed. "I think you're going a bit overboard, dear," she said gently.

"I know," Harry muttered.

**Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone?**

"Probably not, he's just a git," sneered Sirius.

**Harry didn't see how he could- yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.**

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and he had to hold back a small chuckle.

**Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again.**

"We were not!" Hermione defended half-heartedly.

**This wasn't what you'd call comforting.**

"Yeah, not really," Tonks agreed.

**Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match.**

"You should bring your wands everywhere," Sirius said seriously (no pun intended, honestly! ;D). "You never know when you might need them, especially in times of trouble."

"Yes, but we grew up during a war," Remus muttered. "We can only hope that they won't have to."

Sirius shot him a worried look.

**Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse.**

"You were?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Course," Ron shrugged.

**They'd gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.**

"You guys are really good friends," Bill said seriously. "Even when you were only eleven."

"Yeah, thanks, guys," Harry said, grinning at his friends.

Ron waved him off. "What would you expect?" he asked, a grin on his face. "I wasn't about to let Snape beat up my mate."

**"Now, don't forget, it's ****_Locomotor Mortis,_****" Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.**

**"I ****_know,_****" Ron snapped. "Don't nag."**

Everyone chuckled. _Just like a married couple, _was the universal thought.

**Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Harry aside. **

**"Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."**

"But no pressure," Tonks added.

**"The whole school's out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door. "Even- blimey- Dumbledore's come to watch!"**

"Dumbledore?" Sirius asked, surprised. "Well, Harry's safe then!"

"I do like a good game of Quidditch," Dumbledore chuckled.

**Harry's heart did a somersault.**

**"****_Dumbledore?_****" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard.**

Dumbledore laughed. "Yes, it's a very fine beard," he said. "But I daresay Fred and George's beat mine."

The twins saluted their headmaster while Molly looked at them suspiciously.

**Harry could have laughed out loud with relief. He was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.**

"Thank Merlin," Sirius sighed.

**Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Ron noticed too.**

Dumbledore smiled. In fact, Severus had just been frustrated that he had taken the time to referee to protect Harry when in fact the headmaster had shown up as well. Severus had indeed been most angry, but not for the reasons they suspected.

**"I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Hermione. "Look- they're off. Ouch!"**

"Bet you a Galleon it's Malfoy," Fred muttered to George.

George shook his head. "I'm not taking that bet, I think it's Malfoy too."

Fred pouted.

**Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.**

George smirked at Fred.

**"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."**

"Of course not," Ginny muttered, fed up with this boy; and it was only the first book!

**Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle. **

**"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"**

**Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him.**

"George…" Molly sighed as everyone snickered and Charlie gave his brother a thumbs up.

**Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.**

**"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all.**

"Based on talent, unlike the Slytherin team, where they go purely on bribery," Hermione sneered.

**"It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money- you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."**

"How _dare _he?" hissed Tonks as everyone looked at the book, outraged.

**Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.**

**"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.**

"You tell him, Neville!" Ginny cheered, shooting a smile at Neville, which the boy tentatively returned.

Harry felt an odd feeling arise in him. Did Ginny _like _Neville? They _had _gone to the ball together last year… but what if they-

Wait, why did Harry care? He liked _Cho_… didn't he? He would be perfectly fine with Ginny and Neville dating, of course, they're just his friends. He'd be fine with it, he told himself.

Just. Peachy.

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."**

Ginny glanced at Ron awkwardly before looking away.

**"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."**

"Can I kill him?" Bill snapped irritably, glaring at the book.

"Go right ahead," Percy muttered, also looking murderous.

**Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.**

**"I'm warning you, Malfoy- one more word-"**

"Hit him!" Fred cheered.

"Fred!" Molly scolded. "You do _not _encourage your brother to hit his peers!"

**"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly, "Harry-!"**

Molly immediately stopped scolding her son, instead looking anxiously at the book. "What is it?" she asked worriedly. "Oh, read on, Percy!"

**"What? Where?"**

**Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd.**

"Oh, good," Molly sighed in relief.

**Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.**

"Come on," Sirius muttered, tapping his foot anxiously.

**"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.**

"He just doesn't know where to stop, does he?" Ginny asked, looking at the book disgustedly.

"Please, just hit him this once!" George pleaded.

**Ron snapped.**

"Yes!"

**Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground.**

"Yes! Go Ron!" the twins cheered, leaning over to give their younger brother high-fives. Ron accepted them with a red face and a smile. Molly was about to scold him before she caught the proud look on her youngest son's face, and she sat back, her face softening slightly.

**Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.**

"See, Neville? You're brave," Ginny said perkily.

_Just peachy, _Harry reminded himself.

**"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape- she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.**

"Wow, you're really into the game," chortled Remus.

"Shut up, I want to hear what happens!" Sirius said, staring intently at the book. Remus rolled his eyes.

**Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches-**

"You couldn't have just hit him?" Tonks muttered.

**the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.**

There was an outburst of cheering.

"Yes!" cried, Sirius, punching the air.

"That must be a record!" Charlie exclaimed, looking awed.

"We helped," coughed the twins subtly.

**The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.**

"Exactly!" Charlie said, pointing eagerly at the book.

"Alright, Charlie, calm down," Bill said, patting his brother on the arm.

**"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.**

"Wow, someone's excited," laughed Tonks.

"I was happy," Hermione said, smiling.

**Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it- the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes.**

"Just- wow," Charlie said, shaking his head.

**As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped-**

Dumbledore shook his head fondly. Even when trying to protect the boy, Severus was still annoyed with his victory.

**then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.**

**"Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry could hear. "Nice to see ou haven't been brooding about that mirror… been keeping busy… excellent…"**

"Yes," Molly said, nodding.

**Snape spat bitterly on the ground.**

"Haha, take that you greasy git!" cheered Fred.

"Alright, that's enough," said McGonagall, a faintly amused look in her eyes.

**Harry left the locker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broomshed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really done something to be proud of now- no one could say he was just a famous name any more.**

"Yes, now you're a famous name who's good at Quidditch!" Fred said cheerfully.

**The evening air had never smelled so sweet.**

"Ah, the scent of victory," sighed Sirius reminiscently.

**He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.**

"Oh, Ronald," Molly sighed.

**Harry had reached the shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it, he'd shown Snape…**

"Yes, you did," said George happily.

**And speaking of Snape…**

McGonagall groaned. "What will you get into know?" she muttered.

**A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner- what was going on?**

"Oh, please don't follow," Molly pleaded. "Haven't you gotten into enough trouble for the year?"

The trio glanced at each other nervously.

**Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off.**

"I love rash people," Tonks grinned. "They're much more fun."

**Gliding silently over the castle he saw Snape enter the forest at a run. He followed.**

Molly moaned. "Fantastic."

**The trees were so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree.**

"If he catches you, you're dead," Neville whimpered.

**He climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves.**

"Don't fall," George suggested.

"Thank you, George, for that astounding piece of advice," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome!" George chirped.

**Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone.**

"Dun dun dun," Fred muttered under his breath, clearly not wanting to anger his sister again.

**Quirrell was there, too.**

There were raised eyebrows, and Remus frowned at the book. _Quirrell again…_

**Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.**

**"…d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus…"**

"Merlin, I hated his stutter," Ron said, shaking his head.

**"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy.**

Charlie snorted.

**"Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."**

"Too late," Ginny said with a grin.

**Harry leaned forward.**

"Be careful," Molly warned.

**Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.**

**"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"**

"Ha!" Sirius said. "Proof! Snape is trying to steal the stone!"

Sighing, Remus turned to Sirius. "Okay, Sirius, we'll make a bet. I will bet you five Galleons Snape is _not _trying to steal the stone."

Sirius smirked, holding out his hand to shake Remus'. "Deal. Oh, this is going to be an easy five Galleons…"

Harry and Ron exchanged amused glances.

**'B-b-but Severus, I-"**

**"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.**

"He's got a point," Tonks grimaced.

**"I-I don't know what you-"**

**"You know perfectly well what I mean."**

**An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree.**

"Oh, do be careful," Molly said, biting her lip.

**He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say, "-your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."**

"Oh, I want to hear the rest," Bill complained.

**"B-but I d-d-don't-"**

"Poor Quirrell," Tonks said. "It's got to be hard to be pressured by Snape."

_Stupid Quirrell, _Ron thought irritably.

**"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."**

"That's not ominous," muttered Ginny.

**He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.**

"Oh, that would be fantastic," Ron mumbled to Harry. "Release the Basilisk!"

Remus picked up their words with his advanced hearing, and his frown deepened. Something was seriously wrong with Quirrell…

**"Harry, where have you ****_been?_****" Hermione squeaked.**

**"We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back.**

"Make up your mind!" Fred laughed.

**"And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed!**

"That's an awesome day for Gryffindor!" Charlie cheered.

"'Tried' to?" Molly asked, frowning.

**He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right-**

"Oh, dear," sighed Molly as Neville turned red.

"Good job, Neville!" Tonks said, and the Gryffindor smiled.

**talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."**

"Stole?" Ron snorted, "They practically throw it at you."

Hermione huffed. "It's barbaric! Now, S.P.E.W.-"

"Oh, you're _not _starting on that again, are you?" Ron groaned.

"What's SPEW?" Charlie asked curiously, ignoring Harry and Ron, who were shaking their heads frantically.

"It's _S.P.E.W.,_" Hermione said as her friends groaned. "The Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare. It's a club I started to help gain rights for house elves-"

"Alright, alright, keep reading!" George interrupted.

"Hold on a second, this is interesting," Percy countered.

Hermione looked overjoyed. "Oh, it is! We have badges and everything-"

"Just read!" everyone shouted.

**"Never mind that now," said harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this…"**

**He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what he'd seen and heard.**

"Yes, good idea to look out for Peeves," Sirius nodded. "Elementary mistake, letting Peeves overhear your plans."

**"So we were right, it ****_is _****the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it.**

Sirius nudged Remus, smirking.

**He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy- and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus-pocus'- I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through-"**

**"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Hermione asked in alarm.**

"I give it a week," Ginny said.

**"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.**

Percy glanced up. "That's the end," he said.

"Oh, I'll read again!" Tonks said eagerly, grabbing the book. She flipped to the correct page, clearing her throat. "Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback'.

* * *

**A/N: I'll have you know, I wrote most of this even as I'm struggling to stay awake because I wanted to get this out to you all. So I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope I didn't mess up too badly anywhere. Half conscious, here!**

**Thanks for the awesome reviews, they're great! Please, keep them coming!**

**I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible.**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	15. Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

**Chapter 14: Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback**

"Woah, woah, woah," Bill said, frowning. "Aren't Norwegian Ridgeback's dragons?"

"Dragons?" Molly and Sirius demanded.

McGonagall's eyes widened. "You mean there actually _was _a dragon?" she asked incredulously.

"Er…." Harry said awkwardly.

Neville brightened. "So you weren't lying to me!" he realized.

Hermione shook her head. "No, we weren't. I'm sorry, Neville."

"It's fine," Neville said, simply looking pleased that his friends hadn't lied to him.

"What's this about a dragon?" Sirius interrupted, frowning.

Harry sighed. "You'll see."

**Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd first thought.**

Ron snorted.

**In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.**

**Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside.**

"As long as you don't go in," Molly said sternly.

**Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely meant the Stone was still safe. **

Sirius smirked at Remus.

**Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron had started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.**

Harry sighed. Ron groaned quietly, dropping his head to his hands. "I feel like a prat," he muttered. Hermione patted his back supportively.

**Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Sorcerer's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes. **

"You sound like Remus," Sirius moaned.

"That's not a bad thing!" Remus defended.

**Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.**

Sirius glared at Remus, who grinned at him.

**"Hermione, the exams are ages away."**

**"Ten weeks," Hermione snapped.**

"That is a bit much," Tonks admitted.

"Start studying early and you won't be as stressed out closer to exams," Hermione sad smartly.

"Doesn't stop her," Ron muttered to Harry, "she's always stressed."

**"That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."**

"But you're not immortal," Fred pointed out.

**"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her.**

"Don't say a word," Fred warned George, who had just opened his mouth to poke fun at his brothers.

**"Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all."**

"Ron, you should always study," Molly said.

Ron rolled his eyes.

**"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me…"**

"Three months early? That's way too much!" Sirius complained.

"Okay, maybe I was a bit high-strung," Hermione mumbled.

Ron stared at her incredulously.

**Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione.**

Sirius whirled on McGonagall. "How could you?" he asked seriously. His old professor sent him a sharp look, and he sat back quickly.

**They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones.**

"They never are," Charlie said mournfully.

**It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work. **

**"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.**

"Ah, the worst day to be studying," Bill said sadly, shaking his head.

**Harry, who was looking up "Dittany" in ****_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi,_**** didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"**

"Hagrid knows where the library is?" Fred asked curiously, blinking at the book.

Ginny sighed. "Fred, you're hopeless."

**Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back.**

Molly's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

**He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.**

"I'll bet," Tonks laughed.

**"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once.**

"Alright, what's he hiding?" Sirius asked, frowning.

**"An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"**

**"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "****_And _****we know what that dog's guarding, it's the Sorcerer's St-"**

"Ron! Just shout it to the world, why don't you?!" Ginny asked, exasperated. Ron looked sheepish.

**"****_Shhhh!_****" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"**

"That's what we've been asking for years," George said solemnly, earning a glare from his mother and Ron.

**"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy-"**

"Not you too," Ginny moaned. "Boys are so clueless!"

"Hey!" the boys defended.

**"SHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen- come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anthin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I told yeh-"**

"He kind of did," Percy muttered.

**"See you later then," said Harry.**

**Hagrid shuffled off.**

**"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.**

"Knowing you three, you'll find out," Tonks said.

**"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"**

**"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.**

**"****_Dragons!_****" he whispered.**

Everyone stared at the book. "He isn't…" Tonks said slowly.

"THAT MAN!" Molly shouted. "I swear, if he has a dragon in that hut of his, I'll- I'll-" she rounded on the trio, who shrunk back slightly. "You are not to go near any dragons!" she commanded.

"Yes Mum," Ron said quickly, sending a warning glance to his friends.

"Hagrid's awesome," Sirius whispered to Remus.

**"Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: ****_Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide._****"**

McGonagall's nostrils flared slightly, and Molly glared at the book.

**"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," said Harry.**

**"But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that.**

Everyone stared at Ron, who frowned. "What?" he asked.

"How did you know that?" Ginny asked incredulously.

Ron jerked his thumb at Charlie. "He was always going on and on about it; I _had _to pick up a few things, he practically drilled it into me!"

**It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden- anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."**

"Oh, I wish you hadn't chosen that job," Molly said worriedly, her eyes flicking to Charlie's scarred arms.

Her son rolled his eyes. "Mum, I'm fine," he insisted. "It's just a few little burns."

**"But there aren't wild dragons in ****_Britain_****?" said Harry.**

"Of course," Charlie nodded.

**"Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you.**

Molly frowned. "They didn't have a problem keeping them a secret when they put a bunch of children into an arena with them," she muttered to herself, casting a concerned look at Harry.

**Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."**

**"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.**

"Five galleons it's a dragon," George whispered to Fred.

Fred gave him an 'are you serious look'. "Of course it's a dragon!"

George frowned, sitting back. "Darn it!"

**When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.**

"It is so a dragon," Bill said. His mother glared at him.

**It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. **

For the egg, Charlie thought, nodding.

**Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.**

"Smart," Sirius said distractedly, getting slightly worried about the dragon. His godson could get hurt, no matter how awesome dragons were…

**"So- yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"**

**"Yes," said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy."**

"That was almost too blunt," said Tonks, wincing slightly.

**Hagrid frowned at him.**

**"O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could.**

"Thank you, Hagrid," Molly sighed.

**That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts- I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even knew abou' Fluffy."**

The trio smiled angelically.

**"Oh, come on Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you ****_do _****know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice.**

Fred frowned. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously.

Remus grinned. "I think I know," he said, giving Hermione an amused glance.

**Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had ****_done _****the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."**

Everyone's jaws dropped. Dumbledore smiled serenely; the young witch never ceased to amaze him. Hermione buried her face in her hands, blushing.

"Hermione!" George said. "That's… that's brilliant!"

Fred burst out laughing. "Who would have thought you could bribe Hagrid with flattery?"

"Oh, keep reading," Hermione snapped, her face red.

**Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione.**

"Why didn't we ever think of that?" Sirius whispered to Remus. "We could have gotten so much from him!"

**"Well, I don' s'ppose it could hurt ter tell yeh that…**

"Hagrid!" Molly moaned.

**Let's see… be borrowed Fluffy from me… then some o' the teachers did enchantments… Professor Sprout- Professor Flitwick- Professor McGonagall-" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell- an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."**

"Ha," Remus shot at Sirius, who glared at him.

"It could be a ruse!" Sirius defended.

"Sirius," Remus sighed.

**"****_Snape_****?"**

**"Yeah- yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped ****_protect _****the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."**

"You never know," Sirius muttered stubbornly.

**Harry knew Ron and Hermione were thinking the same as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything- except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.**

"Ha! Proof!" Sirius said excitedly, pointing at the book.

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. "That is not proof, Sirius. It's just Harry's assumption. Now shut up."

**"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"**

"Knowing him, he probably would," Charlie muttered to Bill.

**"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.**

**"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."**

Tonks frowned. "I had forgotten the dragon," she muttered.

**"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glance at the fire. Harry looked at it too.**

Molly pursed her lips worriedly.

**"Hagrid- what's ****_that?_****"**

**But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black, egg.**

"RUBEUS HAGRID!" Molly shouted angrily. "HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO HATCH A DRAGON IN A _SCHOOL_!"

"Does she know he's not actually here?" Ron whispered to Harry, who shrugged.

"Um- I hate to worry everyone more," said Tonks, "but doesn't Hagrid live in a _wooden house_?"

Everyone groaned, and Molly buried her face in her hands.

"Okay, I'll just keep reading, then," Tonks muttered, turning back to the book.

**"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's- er…"**

**"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg.**

"Ronald Weasley, leave that egg be," Molly warned the book.

**"It must've cost you a fortune."**

"That's a good point," Remus mused. "I don't see how Hagrid could have afforded something like that…"

**"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger.**

Remus nodded. "Of course."

Sirius frowned at the book. "Hagrid shouldn't have that dragon; it could really hurt someone."

Remus stared at him in disbelief. "Sirius?" he asked cautiously. "Are you feeling alright?"

Sirius glared at him. "What? I can be responsible! And if that dragon even thinks about hurting Harry, I'll-"

"Shhh, Sirius," Tonks said, "let's just read."

**Think he was quite glad ter be rid of it, ter be honest."**

"I wonder why," said Molly dryly.

**"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.**

**"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow.**

Fred shook his head mournfully. "First Harry and Ron, now Hagrid," he said solemnly.

"Who's going to be reading next?" George continued. "Crookshanks?"

**"Got this outta the library- ****_Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit- _****it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothersbreathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour.**

"Sounds delicious!" said Fred brightly.

**An' see here- how ter recognize diff'rent eggs- what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback.**

"A _what_?" asked McGonagall, eyes widening. "Those are extraordinarily dangerous?"

"It wasn't that bad," Harry shrugged.

"Tell that to my hand," Ron muttered. "I was in the hospital wing for _ages._"

"_What?_" asked Molly sharply. She was ignored.

**They're rare, them."**

"They are," Charlie said eagerly. "We only have one on the reserve."

"And it's not this one, is it?" asked Molly suspiciously.

"Er- no?"

**He looked pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.**

**"Hagrid, you live in a ****_wooden house,_****" she said.**

"Excellent point!" Molly said. "He'll burn the place down, trying to raise a _dragon _of all things!"

**But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.**

"He's mad," Sirius muttered.

**So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut. **

"While that's not a good thought, you should focus on your schoolwork," said Remus firmly. "Leave the dragon to Hagrid, he has much more experience."

**"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed,**

"That's what I've been wondering my whole life," Harry muttered, straightening his glasses where they had slipped.

**as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting.**

"Professor McGonagall," Fred scolded, "you know how giving excess amounts of homework can scar young children! How could you?"

"Enough, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said tiredly.

**Hermione had now started making study schedules for Harry and Ron, too. It was driving them nuts.**

Hermione shot them a glare.

**Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words: ****_It's hatching._**

"Oh!" Charlie said, perking up. "You can witness an actual birth! How amazing! I- I mean," he quickly corrected as Molly stared him down, "that's very dangerous, children; don't go near the dragon."

**Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut.**

"Ronald!"

**Hermione wouldn't hear of it.**

"Thank goodness you're there to keep those two out of trouble," Molly sighed.

Fred and George, on the other hand, shot her incredulous looks. "How many times in your life will you get to see a dragon hatch?" Fred asked her.

**"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"**

"Don't… say… a word," Fred warned George, who was smirking broadly.

**"We've got lessons, we'll get in trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing-"**

**"Shut up!" Harry whispered.**

"There you go, Harry, be assertive!" Sirius cheered.

**Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen.**

"Stupid ferret," Ginny muttered. "Mind your own business."

**How much had he heard? Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.**

"I don't much like his face in general!" George said cheerfully.

**Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology**

"When are they not arguing?" Neville asked.

"Young love," sighed Fred wistfully.

The two went red. "Shut up!" said a violently burning Ron.

"_Him? Me? Us?_" Hermione spluttered.

"Oh, just read," Harry sighed, tired of the naïve two.

**and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the three of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.**

Charlie was looking exactly like Hagrid at the moment.

**"It's nearly out."**

"And that's a _good _thing?"

**He ushered them inside.**

**The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.**

Charlie nodded seriously, staring at the wall and listening intently. Tonks waved her hands in front of his face, but he seemed to be lost in his own world of dragons.

**The all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.**

"Yes, get _closer _to the fire-breathing monster," Molly muttered.

**All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open.**

Everyone leaned forward subconsciously, staring at the book.

**The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.**

Fred and George snorted. "Quite the looker, huh?"

"Yes, they're beautiful," Charlie nodded.

Fred blinked at him before leaning over to George. "Is he serious?" he mumbled. George shrugged.

**It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.**

"_Wooden house,_" Molly hissed.

**"Isn't he ****_beautiful?" _****Hagrid murmured.**

"Charlie, we've found your twin!" George cried out in delight.

**"He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.**

"It's trying to eat him," McGonagall said flatly.

**"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.**

"Completely mad," Sirius muttered.

**"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"**

"It'll be as big as an oak tree in just a month!" Charlie said brightly.

"Thank you, Charlie," Arthur said tiredly as Molly's eyes widened.

**Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face- he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.**

"Malfoy," Ginny muttered.

**"What's the matter?"**

**"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains- it's a kid- he's runnin' back up ter the school."**

"Oh, excellent," Tonks said. "Things are hard enough with the dragon, but there has to be someone who _knows _about it, of course. Why would things ever be easy for them?"

**Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.**

**Malfoy had seen the dragon.**

"Harry," Fred said seriously, "I think we have a problem."

"Malfoy is always sticking his nose in your business," George said, "and it's obvious that… well…"

"What?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps it would be kinder if I… no…" Fred mused, stroking an imaginary beard.

"Just spit it out," Harry said, annoyed.

George gave Harry a grim smile. "Draco has a crush on you, Harrykins," he said solemnly. "His stalking you is obviously a profession of his undying love."

Everyone burst into laughter except for Harry, who rolled his eyes, and Ginny, who pursed her lips and didn't say anything.

"Very funny," he muttered.

**Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron, and Hermione very nervous.**

Fred and George smiled knowingly. Harry and Ginny glared at them.

**They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.**

**"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."**

"He's too small," Charlie protested. "He wouldn't make it in the wild."

"And that's a bad thing?" Percy muttered.

**"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."**

**They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week.**

"That means it's healthy!" Charlie said.

"Fantastic!" Tonks said, rolling her eyes.

**Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy.**

"How did you not notice?" Molly demanded to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore smiled benignly. "I had assumed our gamekeeper was simply feeling a bit under the weather. Never would I have thought to check his cabin for an illegal dragon."

**There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.**

**"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"**

"Umm…."

**"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.**

"Yup, pretty much," Fred agreed.

"He has not!" Charlie said. "Just because he is passionate about something as amazing as dragons doesn't mean he's mad. Dragons are an incredible species with thousands of years of history and the most interesting anatomy-"

"He's lost his marbles," Fred muttered in George's ear.

**"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house.**

"That wouldn't be good," Sirius noted helpfully.

**Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."**

"That would be for the best," McGonagall said. "Professor Dumbledore would help Hagrid."

"That I would," Dumbledore nodded.

**Hagrid bit his lip.**

**"I- I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."**

"Poor Hagrid," murmured Ginny sympathetically.

**Harry suddenly turned to Ron.**

**"Charlie," he said.**

Harry received many strange looks.

"No, Harry, darling," Fred said, "that's Ron. Charlie's in Romania."

"That's not what I meant!" Harry said.

**"You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"**

Everyone snorted.

**"No- Charlie- your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. WE could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"**

"Smart," Bill nodded.

"Charlie Weasley, do not get yourself roped into this," Molly warned the book.

**"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"**

**And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.**

**The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed.**

"Where's Ron?" asked Neville.

**The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.**

"He seems to be maturing well," Charlie nodded. Tonks stifled her laughter with her hand.

**"It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief.**

"Oh, dear!" said Molly, looking worried. "I _told _you not to go near that dragon!"

"You'd better go to Madam Pomfrey," said Charlie, frowning. "Norwegian Ridgeback's are poisonous."

Molly looked like she was going to be ill.

**"I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid talks about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit.**

"That's what it is in Hagrid's eyes," said Remus.

**When it bit me he told me off for frightening it.**

"Hagrid!" Molly exclaimed while everyone laughed.

**And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."**

"He's off his rocker," Sirius said certainly.

**There was a tap on the dark window.**

"GHOSTS!" Fred shouted, clutching his face.

"Shut up!"

**"It's Hedwig!" said Harry,**

"GHOSTS!" Fred repeated adamantly.

"Seriously?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

**hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"**

"Which better be no," Molly said warningly.

**The three of them put their heads together to read the note.**

**_Dear Ron,_**

**_How are you? Thanks for the letter- I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.  
Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.  
Send me an answer as soon as possible._**

**_Love,  
Charlie_**

"CHARLIE!" Molly shouted.

"What?" Charlie protested. "I wanted to help my little brother! The reserve is the perfect place to keep the dragon!"

"What if you get caught?!" she asked.

"I didn't," he said.

Molly spun on the Trio. "And _you_? Did _you _three get caught?"

"Er…" they said, looking at each other.

Molly put her head in her hands. "Why can't my family just stay out of trouble?" she muttered.

**They looked at one another. **

**"We've got an invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult- I think the cloak's big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."**

"That's a horrible plan," admitted Sirius.

**It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other two agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert- and Malfoy.**

"He's got a point," Remus admitted. "It's really they're only option."

**There was a hitch.**

"Of course," said Ginny.

**By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size.**

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Molly encouraged anxiously.

**He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey- would she recognize a dragon bite?**

"Yes," Sirius said, "but she won't ask questions. She never does." He and Remus exchanged grim smiles.

**By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green.**

"That's not good," said Fred.

"You don't say?" said George.

**It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.**

"Well, duh," said Fred, rolling his eyes. "Charlie already told you that!"

**Harry and Hermione rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.**

**"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off.**

"Ouch," Tonks winced.

**Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me.**

"I'd have a good laugh if he fell off a cliff," Fred said conversationally.

"Into a vat of boiling lava," George continued.

"Infested with snakes."

"With spikes aimed right at his-"

"That's _enough_," Molly said, her lips twitching slightly and betraying her stern expression.

**He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me- I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me-**

"Yeah, the only dog around is Fluffy, and if that had bit you, you wouldn't have a hand," Bill said.

**I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."**

"Eh, he'd do it no matter what," Fred said.

**Harry and Hermione tried to calm Ron down.**

**"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.**

"Now what?!" asked Tonks, throwing her hands into the air.

**"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no- oh no- I've just remembered- Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."**

Everyone groaned. "Good going, Ron," Fred muttered.

Ron went red and glanced down at the floor. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"You leave him alone, it was an accident!" she snapped at Fred.

Fred looked surprised at her outburst, but Ron looked grateful- and a tad bit confused. He shot a timid smile at Hermione, who returned it just as awkwardly.

**Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed to sleep.**

"That's Madam Pomfrey's remedy for everything," Sirius nodded. "'Mr. Black, you need to sleep!' I wasn't even tired half the time I was in there!"

**"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione.**

"As long as you keep the invisibility cloak on, you should be fine," Tonks shrugged.

**"We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it.**

"That's it, Harry, you can do it!" cheered Sirius.

**And we ****_have _****got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."**

"Imagine if he _did,_" said George, sounding horrified.

After a moment of silence, everyone shivered.

**They found Fang the boarhound sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.**

"Poor Fang," said Neville softly.

**"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage- nothin' I can't handle."**

Molly seemed torn between worry for Hagrid and relief he wasn't letting Hermione and Harry inside the hut.

**When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.**

"Honestly, he thinks he can handle that?" Bill asked incredulously.

**"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot- jus' playin' he's only a baby, after all."**

"A _baby?_" Ginny asked, blinking at the book.

**The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle.**

"That's one big baby," George said.

**Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.**

**They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say good-bye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do.**

"Oh, please don't run into trouble," Molly pleaded.

**It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall.**

"I need to go visit Peeves," Sirius said thoughtfully. "I miss the little devil."

**Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.**

**"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."**

"That teddy bear's going to survive, what, ten seconds?" asked George, looking around.

**From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.**

"Three works too," said George, nodding.

**"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Hermione covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"**

"That poor man," said Tonks sadly. "He must be devastated."

**How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew.**

"It will be forever a mystery," Fred agreed. "Two scrawny little eleven year olds, carry a dragon? Seems pretty impossible to me!"

**Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another- even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.**

"Excellent, Harry has shortcuts!" Sirius said happily. "His father would be so proud!"

**"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.**

**Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.**

"Who is it?" Bill asked eagerly.

**Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.**

"Excellent!" the twins shouted, high-fiving. "A bonus!"

**"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how ****_dare _****you-"**

McGonagall flushed slightly.

"He _was _out of bed," Molly assured her, taking pity on the professor. "You were right to punish him."

**"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming- he's got a dragon!"**

"Snitch," Ginny hissed.

**"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies!**

"I can't believe there was really a dragon," McGonagall muttered.

**Come on- I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"**

"Haha!" crowed Charlie victoriously.

**The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that.**

"I would have stopped to celebrate in the kitchens!" Fred said.

**Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.**

"Can you show us it?" George asked, smirking.

"No," Hermione snapped, blushing.

**"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!" **

**"Don't," Harry advised her.**

"I didn't want us to get caught," he explained when Hermione shot him a look.

**Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.**

"It will be nice to wrap all this up," Tonks smiled. Harry and Hermione shot each other looks, and Neville frowned.

**Charlie's friends were a cheery lot.**

"They're excellent," Charlie agreed, "real good lads."

**They showed Harry and Hermione the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. **

"_They'd _rigged up?" Charlie asked, affronted. "_I _thought of that!"

**They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.**

"Yes, thank you," said Molly, relieved.

**At last, Norbert was going… going… ****_gone._**

"Huzzah!" Sirius cheered.

"Aww!" complained the twins.

**They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them.**

"I'd be pretty pleased," Ginny agreed.

**No more dragon- Malfoy in detention- what could spoil their happiness?**

Everyone groaned. "Now something _has _to happen," Fred said regretfully.

**The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.**

Sirius paled. "_Please _tell me you didn't forget the cloak…"

**"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we ****_are _****in trouble."**

**They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.**

Tonks glanced up. "That's the end of the chapter," she said.

Sirius sighed, reaching out and grabbing the book. "I'll read," he said glumly. "I wonder what kind of trouble this will get them into?" Flipping the page, he read, "'The Forbidden Forest.'"

* * *

**A/N: Hehe. EXTREMELY sorry for the long wait, everyone! I had the chapter all typed up and ready to go, and guess what happens? Computer crash! I had to restart, and by then I was just too peeved off to even look at this story for a week. So, sorry… updates will become much more regular after this!**

**Thanks for all the reviews, and I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. Please, leave me a quick comment! It means a lot!**

**Thanks for reading, I'll update soon!**

**Xoxo,**

**Kayla**


	16. The Forbidden Forest

**Readers:**

**Harry Potter**

**Hermione Granger **

**Ron Weasley**

**Fred Weasley**

**George Weasley**

**Arthur Weasley**

**Molly Weasley**

**Bill Weasley**

**Charlie Weasley**

**Ginny Weasley**

**Percy Weasley**

**Sirius Black**

**Remus Lupin**

**Minerva McGonagall**

**Albus Dumbledore**

**Nymphadora Tonks**

**Neville Longbottom**

* * *

**Chapter 14: The Forbidden Forest**

**Things couldn't have been worse.**

"You're going to jinx yourselves," Tonks muttered.

**Filch took the down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Excuses, alibis, and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Harry's brain, each more feeble than the last.**

"I wouldn't try," Remus winced. "Eleven year-old cover-stories are not the best."

"I'll say," sighed Sirius, a look of reminiscence on his face.

**He couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered.**

"There's always a way out!" said Bill confidently.

**How could they have been so stupid as to forget the cloak?**

Hermione frowned at the floor, crossing her arms grumpily.

**There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes.**

"Absolutely not!" McGonagall sniffed.

**Add Norbert and the invisibility cloak, and they might as well be packing their bags already.**

"You don't have to tell her about that stuff," Sirius said reasonably, ignoring the glare he received from McGonagall.

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "And what would _your _excuse be if you were caught in that situation?" she asked doubtfully.

Sirius smirked over at Harry and Hermione. "Well, that's easy. A boy and a girl, up in the astronomy tower, late at night, _together…_"

"Sirius!" Hermione shouted, eyes widening as a blush crept across her cheeks. Harry flushed as well, and the two looked at each other, horrified.

"No!" Harry said firmly.

"We were eleven!" Hermione reminded him.

"So?" Sirius asked blankly.

"Aw, is Ickle Harry blushing?" Fred cooed, smirking at the red-faced Boy-Who-Lived.

"How cute," George said with a smile.

"Shut up," Hermione snarled at them.

The twins held up their hands in surrender, grins still on their faces.

"Just keep reading, Sirius," Harry muttered, leaning back in his seat, his face hot. Next to him, Hermione ran a hand through her bushy hair, staring determinedly at the floor and not meeting anyone's eyes, thoroughly embarrassed.

Everyone was chuckling lightly except for Ron, who was glaring adamantly at his feet and not saying a word to anyone.

**Had Harry thought that things couldn't have been worse? He was wrong.**

"Of course," Charlie sighed.

**When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.**

Neville winced, remembering that awful night.

**"Harry!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other two. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag-"**

"Oh," Molly said softly. "He was trying to warn you."

"You're very loyal," Sirius said approvingly.

Neville smiled shyly at him.

**Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the three of them.**

George snorted. "Beware, the fire-breathing Transfiguration professor!" he said in a spooky voice, waggling his fingers in the air.

McGonagall just glared at him sharply, deciding not to say anything.

**"I would never have believed it of any of you.**

"Yes, because they're _so _well-behaved," Bill said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Well, at that point I had no idea they would go on to break so many rules," McGonagall murmured.

"I don't think any of us did, Minerva," Dumbledore said with a small smile.

**Mr. Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning.**

Everyone stifled laughter. Ron's ears turned red.

**_Explain yourselves."_**

**It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question.**

"Not true," Hermione protested to herself.

**She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.**

**"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble.**

"Now there's an idea," Fred mused quietly.

**I've already caught him.**

"Still pleased about that," said Sirius cheerfully.

**I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"**

"Oh, no!" Hermione said, horrified. "I wish Neville had never gotten dragged into that!"

"Thanks," Neville muttered.

"Did you really think that of them, Minerva?" Remus asked the professor in a quiet voice.

Minerva straightened slightly. "No, Remus," she said softly.

**Harry caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking stunned and hurt.**

"Sorry," Harry told Neville, looking ashamed.

"It's not your fault," Neville said, shaking his head.

**Poor, blundering Neville- **

Neville blinked at the book.

**Harry knew what it must have cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.**

"See, Neville? You're very brave!" Ginny cut in. She received a thankful smile in return.

**"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Four students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All three of you will receive detetions-**

"Even Neville?" Tonks asked, raising an eyebrow.

**yes, you too, Mr. Longbottom, ****_nothing _****gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous- and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor.**

"Only fifty!" Sirius proclaimed. "Not too bad."

"Just wait," Harry said miserably.

**"****_Fifty_****?" Harry gasped-**

"We've lost more than that before," Remus shrugged.

**they would lose the lead, the lead he'd won in the last Quidditch match.**

"Rotten luck," Charlie sighed.

**"Fifty points ****_each_****,"**

Gasps were heard around the room. "Professor!" Bill cried, horrified. "You can't do that to them! Do you understand the repercussions of that?"

"It was their punishment!" McGonagall said stubbornly.

"A bit harsh," Tonks said, eyebrows raised.

"They're gonna get it," Charlie muttered, shaking his head mournfully.

**said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.**

**"Professor- please-"**

**"You ****_can't_****-"**

"No use," said Sirius, shaking his head.

**"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."**

McGonagall frowned, glancing over at Sirius with sad eyes. No, that wasn't correct. There had been plenty of other times when she had been unbelievably ashamed… and once she had been completely mistaken.

**A hundred and fifty points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the house cup.**

Harry glanced over at Ron and grinned. Ron, still rather annoyed by the whole astrology tower thing, looked away, his face a mixture of emotions.

The smile slipped off of Harry's face, and he frowned in confusion.

**Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. How could they ever make up for this?**

**Harry didn't sleep all night. He could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours.**

Neville flushed as many pitying looks were shot his way.

**Harry couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. He knew Neville, like himself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done?**

"Nothing pretty," Bill said sadly.

McGonagall frowned slightly.

**At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hourglass that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, him and a couple of other stupid first years.**

Fred and George sheepishly rubbed the back of their necks, remembering what had happened afterwards.

**From being one of the most popular and admired people at school, Harry was suddenly the most hated.**

Sirius' voice tightened slightly, but he read on, sounding annoyed.

**Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the house cup.**

"Understandable, but there's no reason to turn against a few first years," Tonks chastised the book.

**Everywhere Harry went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted him.**

"Jerks," Sirius interrupted himself.

**Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, we owe you one!"**

"That's expected," Charlie sighed.

**Only Ron stood by him.**

"Thanks, Ron," Harry said quietly.

Ron hesitated before giving him a small smile. "Course, mate," he said lightly.

Harry grinned a bit wider when Ron actually began speaking to him again.

**"They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."**

"You mean love us?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd say it's more like worship," George said casually, leaning back in his seat.

Bill snorted. "Keep dreaming."

**"They've never lost a hundred and fifty points in one go, though, have they?" said Harry miserably.**

"No," Molly said sharply as the twins' faces brightened.

**"Well- no," Ron admitted.**

"But we have ideas…" Fred whispered with a jovial nod of the head.

**It was a bit late to repair the damage, but Harry swore to himself not to meddle in things that weren't his business from now on.**

Everyone snorted. Percy shook his head doubtfully, and Charlie chimed in, "I give you two days, tops."

"I can stay out of other people's business!" Harry defended.

"Sure you can," Tonks said sarcastically.

**He'd had it with sneaking around and spying. He felt so ashamed of himself that he went to Wood and offered to resign from the Quidditch team.**

"_Resign_?" Sirius asked incredulously. "What'll that do? They need you, and you can win points back that way!"

**"****_Resign?_****" Wood thundered. "What good'll that do? How are we going to get any points back if we can't win at Quidditch?"**

"Obsessive maniacs think alike," Remus murmured.

**But even Quidditch had lost its fun.**

The Quidditch players in the room looked bewildered.

**The rest of the team wouldn't speak to Harry during practice, and if they had to speak about him, they called him "the Seeker".**

Molly spun on the twins. "Fred! George! How dare you turn on Harry like that?" she shouted, outraged.

Fred and George looked properly ashamed. "Sorry, Harry," they said in unison.

"It's fine," Harry said, waving them off with a good-natured grin.

**Hermione and Neville were suffering, too. They didn't have as bad a time as Harry, because they weren't as well-known, but nobody would speak to them, either. Hermione had stopped drawing attention to herself in class, keeping her head down and working in silence.**

Ron narrowed his eyes. "Don't let them get you down, Hermione," he said firmly, glancing over at her.

Hermione gave him a strange look before smiling. "Even though this happened four years ago, thanks, Ron," she said quietly.

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other with knowing looks.

**Harry was almost glad that the exams weren't far away.**

The twins gasped.

**All the studying he had to do kept his mind off his misery.**

McGonagall furrowed her eyebrows. She hadn't known taking off so many points would literally make her students suffer. Perhaps she would have to rethink her punishments…

**He, Ron, and Hermione kept to themselves, working late into the night, trying to remember the ingredients in complicated potions, learn charms and spells by heart, memorize the dates of magical discoveries and goblin rebellions…**

"Ah, exams," said Remus reminiscently, a small smile on his face.

"Ugh, exams," Sirius said, shaking his heads irritably.

**Then, about a week before the exams were due to start, Harry's new resolution not to interfere in anything that didn't concern him was put to an unexpected test.**

"See! I lasted a whole week," Harry pointed out.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "You sure showed me."

**Walking back from the library on his own one afternoon, he heard somebody whispering from a classroom up ahead. As he drew closer, he heard Quirrell's voice.**

Remus frowned.

**"No- no- not again, please-"**

**It sounded as though someone was threatening him.**

"Snape," Sirius muttered to Remus. The werewolf elbowed him.

**Harry moved closer.**

"Oh, dear," Molly sighed.

**"All right- all right-" he heard Quirrell sob.**

**Next second, Quirrell came hurrying out of the classroom straightening his turban.**

Remus narrowed his eyes.

**He was pale and looked as though he was about to cry.**

Fred rolled his eyes. "He always was a wimp."

Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione.

**He strode out of sight; Harry didn't think Quirrell had even noticed him. He waited until Quirrell's footsteps had disappeared, then peered into the classroom. It was empty, but a door stood ajar at the other end. Harry was halfway toward it before he remembered what he'd promised himself about not meddling.**

"Self-control, Harry, you've got this," said George bracingly.

**All the same, he'd have gambled twelve Sorcerer's Stones that Snape had just left the room, **

"Would have lost that bet," Harry muttered to Ron.

**and from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step- Quirrell seemed to have given in at last.**

George's eyes brightened. "Forge!" he said, turning to his twin excitedly. "We should stick charmed springs in Snape's shoes that bounced so high he would hit the ceiling!"

Fred grinned. "Why, Gred, I daresay our dear potions master would love a little height in his daily routine!" he said cheerfully.

"I like these two," Sirius told Remus with a grin.

**Harry went back to the library, where Hermione was testing Ron on Astronomy. Harry told them what he'd heard.**

**"Snape's done it, then!" said Ron.**

"A little quick to jump to conclusions, aren't you?" Arthur asked his son.

Ron flushed.

**"If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell-"**

**"There's still Fluffy, though," said Hermione.**

**"Maybe Snape's found out how to get past him without asking Hagrid," said Ron, looking up at the thousands of books surrounding them. "I bet there's a book somewhere in here telling you how to get past a giant three-headed dog.**

Fred cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Madam Pince?" he asked politely. "I was wondering if you happened to have any books with instructions on how to get past a ginormous three-headed dog with big fangs that was supposed to be kept secret from everyone in Hogwarts (except for the gang of snoopy first years) just lying around, maybe? If you do, I'd be much obliged if I could borrow it."

"Come now, Fred, you know that's no way to ask Madam Pince for a book," he chastised. Straightening, he started. "Madam Pince, I loathe to trouble you on this fine June day, but I was simply wondering if you-"

"Moving on," Ginny said loudly.

**So what do we do, Harry?"**

"Nothing!" Molly said hopefully.

**The lighto f adventure was kindling again in Ron's eyes, but Hermione answered before Harry could.**

**"Go to Dumbledore.**

Molly smiled at Hermione. She had always liked her.

**That's what we should have done ages ago. If we try anything ourselves we'll be thrown out for sure."**

"With what proof?" Tonks asked.

**"But we've got no ****_proof!_****" said Harry.**

"Thank you, Harry, put Nymphadora just said that," Sirius told his godson with a smile.

Tonks' hair turned fiery red. "Don't _call _me Nymphadora!" she said sharply, eyes narrowed at her cousin.

**"Quirrell's too scared to back us up. **

"Got that right," Charlie muttered.

**Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor- who do you think they'll believe, him or us?**

"I would weigh both options fairly and consider both sides of the argument," Dumbledore said lightly.

**It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked.**

Dumbledore just smiled, eyes twinkling knowingly.

**Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think.**

McGonagall made a face.

**And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."**

"But you should tell someone!" Molly protested.

**Hermione looked convinced, but Ron didn't.**

"Yes, Ron, stick with it! Do some adventuring!" Fred cheered.

**"If we just do a bit of poking around-"**

**"No," said Harry flatly, "we've done enough poking around."**

Sirius looked a little disappointed, but Remus nodded approvingly.

**He pulled a map of Jupiter toward him and started to learn the names of its moons.**

**The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Hermione, and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same:**

**Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight.  
Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.**

**_Professor M. McGonagall_**

"Shoot, I forgot about the detentions," Sirius muttered.

**Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furor over the points they'd lost. He half expected Hermione to complain that this was a whole night of studying lost, but she didn't say a word.**

"Of course not!" Hermione exclaimed. "We deserved it!"

"You were only trying to help Hagrid out," Tonks tried to reassure her. "It was for a good reason, you sneaking out like that."

**Like Harry, she felt they deserved what they'd got.**

**At eleven o'clock that night, they said good-bye to Ron in the common room and went down to the entrance hall with Neville. Filch was already there- and so was Malfoy.**

"At least he's got detention too!" Fred said cheerfully.

"Yes, but now they're stuck with him," George pointed out.

Fred shot him a look. "Well aren't you a big ball of sunshine," he said flatly.

**Harry had also forgotten that Malfoy had gotten a detention too.**

**"Follow me," said Filch, lighting a lamp and leading them outside.**

"Outside?" Molly asked suspiciously. "Why outside? What's outside?"

**"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh?" he said, leering at them.**

"Oh, leave them alone, Filch," Remus sighed.

**"Oh yes… hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me… It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out… hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains still in my office, keep 'em well oiled in case they're ever needed…**

Tonks' eyes widened. "That is a sick man," is all she said.

**Right, off we go, and don't think of running off, now, it'll be worse for you if you do."**

"Where would they go?" asked Charlie, rolling his eyes.

**They marched off across the dark grounds. Neville kept sniffing. Harry wondered what their punishment was going to be. It must be something really horrible, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so delighted.**

"_Why are you outside?" _Molly repeated, sounding worried.

**The moon was bright, but clouds scudding across it kept throwing them into darkness. Ahead, Harry could see the lighted windows of Hagrid's hut. Then they heard a distant shout.**

**"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started."**

"Oh, it's just Hagrid," Molly sighed in relief.

"Hey, that doesn't sound like much of a punishment!" Sirius said happily.

**Harry's heart rose; if they were going to be working with Hagrid it wouldn't be so bad. His relief must have showed in his face, because Filch said, "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf?**

"Hagrid's not an oaf!" said Tonks sharply.

**Well, think again, boy- it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."**

"_The forest?!_" Molly exclaimed. She rounded on McGonagall and Dumbledore. "How dare you send four first years into the forest?"

"They were with Hagrid," McGonagall said.

"That is still extremely dangerous! Who _knows _what could happen in there?!"

"It's not that bad," Sirius shrugged.

McGonagall shot him a sharp look. "When have you gone in the Forbidden Forest?" she asked hotly.

Sirius grinned. "You'd be surprised, Minnie, dearest."

"Sirius Black, I swear-"

Sirius started reading again.

**At this, Neville let out a little moan, and Malfoy stopped dead in his tracks.**

**"The forest?" he repeated, and he didn't sound quite as cool as usual.**

"Oh, who's tough now?" Fred sneered.

**"We can't go in there at night- there's all sorts of things in there- werewolves, I heard."**

Sirius chuckled while Remus rolled his eyes. "Not for quite some time," Sirius said cheerfully.

**Neville clutched the sleeve of Harry's robe and made a choking noise. **

**"That's your problem, isn't it?" said Filch, his voice cracking with glee.**

"Seriously, he's quite frightening!" Tonks said, looking around the circle.

**"Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, shouldn't you?"**

Remus sighed. "He knows there's no werewolves in there," he said.

**Hagrid came striding toward them out of the dark, Fang at his heel. He was carrying his large crossbow, and a quiver of arrows hung over his shoulder.**

"I would be sufficiently worried if I had to do that for detention," Bill said with a grimace.

**"Abou' time," he said. "I bin waitin' fer half an hour already. All right Harry, Hermione?"**

George laughed. "I love Hagrid," he said, shaking his head.

Fred made a horrified face at his twin, earning him an elbow to the ribs.

**"I shouldn't be too friendly to them, Hagrid," said Filch coldly, "they're here to be punished, after all."**

**"That's why yer late, is it?" said Hagrid, frowning at Filch. "Bin lecturin' them, eh? 'Snot your place ter do that. Yeh've done yer bit, I'll take over from here."**

"Yeah, Hagrid, get rid of him," urged Charlie.

**"I'll be back at dawn," said Filch, "for what's left of them," he added nastily, and he turned and started back toward the castle, his lamp bobbing away in the darkness.**

"There'd better be plenty left of them!" Molly warned Dumbledore.

**Malfoy now turned to Hagrid.**

"And cue the whining," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

**"I'm not going in that forest," he said, and Harry was pleased to hear the note of panic in his voice.**

"Harry," chastised Hermione quietly, but she couldn't keep the small smile from appearing on her face.

**"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," said Hagrid fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got ter pay fer it."**

**"But this is servant stuff,**

"Servant?" asked Tonks coolly.

**it's not for students to do. I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if my father knew I was doing this, he'd-"**

"No one cares, Malfoy," Fred groaned.

**"-tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled.**

"Good on ya, Hagrid!" Bill said with a nod.

**"Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"**

**Malfoy didn't move. He looked at Hagrid furiously, but then dropped his gaze.**

Sirius looked particularly smug at this.

**"Right then," said Hagrid, "now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks.**

Sirius swallowed, and Molly looked slightly alarmed.

**Follow me over here a moment."**

**He led them to the very edge of the forest. Holding his lamp up high, he pointed down a narrow, winding earth track that disappeared into the thick black trees. A light breeze lifted their hair as they looked into the forest.**

**"Look there," said Hagrid, "see that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood.**

Ginny gasped, pressing her hands to her mouth. "Unicorn blood?" she asked in disbelief.

"Merlin, that's horrible," Tonks said softly.

**There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week.**

"That poor creature," said Molly softly.

**I found one dead last Wednesday.**

Ginny let out a small, horrified sound. Harry glanced over at her worriedly, wishing he could comfort her, but didn't quite know how. Besides, it wasn't his place to do it.

Then he frowned. Why did he want to comfort her, anyways? He shook his head; it must just be those brotherly feelings again.

**We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."**

Tonks shut her eyes briefly. Remus watched her closely.

**"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" said Malfoy, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.**

"We offer you up as bait and run," George said weakly.

"George," Molly sighed half-heartedly, still put-out by the unicorn situation.

**"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. "An' keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions.**

"Split up?" asked Sirius, frowning. "Is that wise?"

"Worried?" Remus asked his friend, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius shot him a look. "My godson is going into the Forbidden Forest, Remus. Yes, I am worried."

**There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."**

Molly shook her head sadly.

**"I want Fang," said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth.**

"Fang's a coward," Ron said with a chuckle, remembering their jaunt into the forest during his second year. Fang had been pretty frightened at that point.

**"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "So me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, an' Fang'll go the other.**

"Aw, why's he putting Draco with Neville?" Ginny protested. "Draco's going to do something, the bloody git."

"Ginny!" Molly scolded, surprised at her daughter.

**Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now- that's it- an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find yeh- so, be careful- let's go."**

"Please don't have to use the red sparks," Molly prayed.

**The forest was black and silent. A little way into it they reached a fork in the earth path, and Harry, Hermione, and Hagrid took the left path while Malfoy, Neville, and Fang took the right.**

**They walked in silence, their eyes on the ground. Every now and then a ray of moonlight through the branches above lit a spot of silver-blue blood on the fallen leaves.**

**Harry saw that Hagrid looked very worried.**

**"****_Could _****a werewolf be killing the unicorns?" Harry asked.**

"They aren't fast enough," Remus said, shaking his head.

**"Not fast enough," said Hagrid. "It's not easy ter catch a unicorn, they're powerful magic creatures. I never knew one ter be hurt before."**

"That's what worries me," Remus spoke up. "Something extremely powerful and dangerous would have to be hurting these unicorns. I don't like the idea of anyone in the forest at this point, let alone a group of first years."

"Thank you, Remus, I feel so much better now," Sirius said sarcastically.

**They walked past a mossy tree stupm. Harry could hear running water; there must be a stream somewhere close by. There were still spots of unicorn blood here and there along the winding path.**

**"You all right, Hermione?" Hagrid whispered. "Don' worry, it can't've gone far if it's this badly hurt, an' then we'll be able ter- GET BEHIND THAT TREE!"**

Molly jumped, letting out a gasp. Ginny reached out and grabbed Neville's wrist, startled, while the latter looked equally frightened.

"Sirius!" Tonks hissed, pressing a hand to her heart.

"It's in caps!" Sirius shot back.

Molly let out a moan. "Keep reading!" she said frantically.

**Hagrid seized Harry and Hermione and hoisted them off the path behind a towering oak. He pulled out an arrow and fitted it into his crossbow, raising it, ready to fire.**

Sirius was reading quickly, struggling to keep his expression calm.

**The three of them listened. Something was slithering over dead leaves nearby: it wounded like a cloak trailing along the ground.**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other grimly.

**Hagrid was squinting up the dark path, but after a few seconds, the sound faded away.**

**"I knew it," he murmured. "There's summat in here that shouldn' be."**

"So get out of there!" Molly exclaimed.

**"A werewolf?" Harry suggested.**

"You're very dead set on it being a werewolf," Remus said tightly.

"Sorry," Harry apologized.

**"That wasn' no werewolf an' it wasn' no unicorn, neither," said Hagrid grimly. "Right, follow me, but careful, now."**

"Follow him right out of the forest!" Tonks suggested.

**They walked more slowly, ears straining for the faintest sound. Suddenly, in a clearing ahead, something definitely moved.**

"Oh, Merlin," Fred sighed.

**"Who's there?" Hagrid called. "Show yerself- I'm armed!"**

**And into the clearing came-**

Everyone held their breath.

**was it a man, or a horse?**

"It's a bird!" Fred exclaimed.

"It's a plane!" George added.

"It's-"

"Super-man!" they both said together.

"We got a hold of some Muggle comics last year," Fred said eagerly.

"Just let us read!" Ginny said, exasperated.

**To the waist, a man, with red hair and beard, but below that was a horse's gleaming chestnut body with a long, reddish tail.**

Tonks gasped. "A centaur!" she said excitedly. "Oh, you're _so _lucky!"

**Harry and Hermione's jaws dropped.**

**"Oh, it's you, Ronan," said Hagrid in relief. "How are yeh?"**

**He walked forward and shook the centaur's hand.**

"I want to meet a centaur!" Fred said eagerly.

"That's a matter of opinion," Sirius muttered.

"You've met them?" Tonks asked in surprise.

Remus sighed. "Don't even ask."

**"Good evening to you, Hagrid," said Ronan. He had a deep, sorrowful voice. "Were you going to shoot me?"**

**"Can't be too careful, Ronan," said Hagrid, patting his crossbow. "There's summat bad loose in this forest. This is Harry Potter an' Hermione Granger, by the way. Students up at the school. An' this is Ronan, you two. He's a centaur."**

"Thank you, Hagrid, for pointing out the obvious," said Bill, raising an eyebrow.

**"We'd noticed," said Hermione faintly.**

"Excited?" Fred laughed.

"I'd only read about creatures like these!" Hermione defended. "Oh, I remember reading the Narnia series when I was little-"

"Narnia?" Ron asked, cocking his head to the side. "What's that, an illness?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, Ronald. It's a Muggle book series."

Ron opened his mouth to ask more questions, but Sirius started reading again.

**"Good evening," said Ronan. "Students, are you? And do you learn much, up at the school?"**

"We try not to," George said seriously.

**"Erm-"**

**"A bit," said Hermione timidly. **

Everyone laughed. "A bit," Charlie chuckled.

**"A bit. Well, that's something." Ronan sighed. He flung his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."**

Sirius and Remus exchanged knowing looks. Tonks just raised an eyebrow. "That was sufficiently random," she noted.

**"Yeah," said Hagrid, glancing up, too. "Listen, I'm glad we've run inter yeh, Ronan, 'cause there's a unicorn bin hurt- you seen anythin'?"**

**Ronan didn't answer immediately. He stared unblinkingly upward, then sighed again. **

**"Always the innocent are the first victims," he said. "So it has been for ages past, so it is now."**

"And that was sufficiently creepy," George said, pulling a face. "What does he mean, the innocent are the first victims?"

"Well, at least that means we're safe, Georgie," Fred said with a grin, elbowing his brother. "We'll never die, cause we're far from innocent!"

"Can you two be serious for five seconds?" sighed Ginny.

"Can't- he's Sirius, not us," George said, smiling cheerfully.

Remus groaned while Sirius perked up, grinning broadly. "Yes!" he cheered.

"Stop using his stupid pun!" Remus said in exasperation.

"But it's _punny_," Sirius whined.

The twins burst into laughter.

"Just read," sighed Remus.

**"Yeah," said Hagrid, "but have yeh seen anythin', Ronan? Anythin' unusual?"**

**"Mars is bright tonight," Ronan repeated, while Hagrid watched him impatiently. "Unusually bright."**

"We get it," Bill said, annoyance tinting his words. "Is he just going to continue repeating that?"

"Mars is the bringer of battle," Hermione noted quietly to her friends. "So it must mean there's an impending… war…" she trailed off, exchanging horrified looks with Harry and Ron. "You don't think…"

"He couldn't have predicted anything like that," Ron said, looking uneasy. He looked from one to the other. "Could he?"

Harry swallowed. "We'll have to see," he said quietly. "Although now that Voldemort's back, I think there may be a very good possibility we'll have another war on our hands."

"Centaurs are known for their astrology," Hermione said in a hushed tone. "What little they have divulged to humans is nearly always right. But they're a solitary and independent people, and rarely give us any information."

"Yet here he is, blatantly telling us we're going to have a war on our hands," Ron pointed out.

"But there's not much we can do right now, seeing as Fudge is still trying to make everything seem like sunshine and daisies," Harry said irritably, thinking back to the Daily Prophet articles he had been told about.

"And that just proves that Fudge is an incompetent Minister," Hermione said easily. "Now then, I was wondering-"

Someone cleared their throat. The Trio looked up to see everyone staring at them, their expressions ranging from shocked to amused. Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling, and Bill and Charlie looked slightly surprised.

"You three having a secret meeting?" Arthur asked mildly, raising his eyebrows.

"Er- no," Hermione said, exchanging looks with the other two. They had quite forgotten they were in a room full of people. "We were just doing some thinking."

"And that, ladies and gentlemen," announced Fred, "was the famous Golden Trio doing their famous brainstorming."

"What were you guys talking about?" asked Remus, frowning slightly.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly.

Everyone looked doubtful, but they went back to the book. Harry, Ron, and Hermione struggled not to look at each other, knowing they were probably going to be watched closely.

**"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home," said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"**

**Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."**

"Gah!" exclaimed George. "Can we please just have a straight answer?"

"Not with a centaur," said Remus with a smile.

**A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.**

**"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"**

**"Good evening, Hagrid. I hope you are well?"**

**"Well enough. Look I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured- would yeh know anythin' about it?"**

**Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. **

**"Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.**

"WE KNOW!" Fred and George exclaimed.

Harry frowned at the ground, his brow creasing. Remus watched him closely, a hint of worry appearing on his features.

**"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."**

"Thank you," sighed Tonks. "They were beginning to annoy me."

"Beginning?" asked Charlie doubtfully.

**Harry and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.**

**"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur.**

"You said it."

**Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."**

"He's lucky the centaurs didn't hear," Percy said, speaking for the first time in a while. "Very prideful, they are."

**"Are there many of ****_them _****in here?" asked Hermione.**

**"Oh, a fair few… Keep to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs… they know things… jus' don' let on much."**

"They let on quite a bit just now," Hermione said softly.

**"D'you think that was a centaur we heard earlier?" said Harry.**

"I wish," Harry muttered to Ron.

**"Did that sound like hooves to you? Nah, if yeh ask me, that was what's bin killin' the unicorns- never heard anythin' like it before."**

"Oh," Molly said, eyes widening. "I nearly forgot what they were there for."

**They walked on through the dense, dark trees. Harry kept looking nervously over his shoulder. He had the nasty feeling they were being watched.**

Ginny shivered. "I hate that feeling."

**He was very glad they had Hagrid and his crossbow with them. They had just passed a bend in the path when Hermione grabbed Hagrid's arm.**

**"Hagrid! Look! Red sparks, the others are in trouble!"**

"Oh, dear me!" Molly gasped, shooting an anxious look at Neville, who looked embarrassed.

**"You two wait here!" Hagrid shouted. "Stay on the path, I'll come back for yeh!"**

"He's leaving them?!" Molly exclaimed.

"Hagrid knows what he's doing, dear," Arthur said quietly.

"Yes, but _still_…"

**They heard him crashing away through the undergrowth and stood looking at each other, very scared, until they couldn't hear anything but the rustling of leaves around them.**

**"You don't think they've been hurt, do you?" whispered Hermione.**

**"I don't care if Malfoy has, but if something's got Neville…**

"Oh, Harry," sighed Hermione, but she looked like she agreed.

**it's our fault here's here in the first place."**

**The minutes dragged by. Their ears seemed sharper than usual. Harry's seemed to be picking up every sigh of the wind, every cracking twig. What was going on? Where were the others?**

"Oh, I hope nothing's happened…" Tonks said worriedly, her hair turning blond so light it was nearly white.

**At last, a great crunching noise announced Hagrid's return. Malfoy, Neville, and Fang were with him.**

Molly let out a sigh of relief.

**Hagrid was fuming.**

"Uh-oh," grimaced Charlie, who knew of Hagrid's temper; he had a very long fuse, but when he wasn't happy, he became quite hard to manage.

**Malfoy, it seemed, had sneaked up behind Neville and grabbed him as a joke. Neville had panicked and sent up the sparks.**

"That prat!" Ginny exploded, narrowing her eyes at the book.

"That is the worst possible timing!" Tonks agreed, huffing indignantly. "Anyone would have sent up the sparks in that situation!"

Neville looked a little less embarrassed at that remark.

**"We'll be lucky ter catch anythin' now, with the racket you two were makin'. Right, we're changin' groups- Neville, you stay with me an' Hermione, Harry, you go with Fang an' this idiot.**

"Aw, man," moaned Sirius.

**I'm sorry," Hagrid added in a whisper to Harry, "but he'll have a harder time frightenin' you, an' we've gotta get this done."**

"Good point," sighed Remus, although he too was disappointed Harry was stuck with Malfoy.

**So Harry set off into the heart of the forest with Malfoy and Fang. They walked for nearly half an hour, deeper and deeper into the forest, until the path became almost impossible to follow because the trees were so thick.**

"Stay on the path," Bill warned.

"He's talking to a book," Fred whispered to George, who grinned at him.

**Harry thought the blood seemed to be getting thicker. There were splashes on the roots of a tree, as though the poor creature had been thrashing around in pain close by.**

Ginny twisted her hands together, looking worried.

**Harry could see a clearing ahead, through the tangled branches of an ancient oak.**

**"Look-" he murmured, holding out his arm to stop Malfoy.**

"You didn't touch him, did you?" George asked, wrinkling his nose.

**Something bright white was gleaming on the ground. They inched closer.**

**It was the unicorn all right, and it was dead.**

Ginny inhaled sharply, pressing a hand to her mouth and staring at the book in horror.

**Harry had never seen anything so beautiful and sad. Its long, slender legs were stuck out at odd angles where it had fallen and its mane was spread pearly-white on the dark leaves.**

"Oh," said Tonks softly.

Sirius glanced over at her. "You alright, Tonks?" he asked quietly.

Tonks swallowed before giving him a shaky smile. "Yeah," she said, "I'm fine."

**Harry had taken one step toward it when a slithering sound made him freeze where he stood. A bush on the edge of the clearing quivered…**

"Bushes aren't supposed to move…" said George slowly.

"You don't say?" asked Fred sarcastically.

**Then, out of the shadows, a hooded figure came crawling across the ground like some stalking beast.**

Everyone gasped. Sirius quickly looked up at Harry, who was sitting safe in the room, looking quite calm despite the fact his book-self was in danger.

**Harry, Malfoy, and Fang stood transfixed.**

"Run," moaned Molly.

**The cloaked figure reached the unicorn, lowered its head over the wound in the animal's side, and began to drink its blood.**

Ginny let out a strangled sound, eyes wide with shock. Harry looked over at her, eyes furrowed.

"You alright?" he asked softly.

Ginny looked over, meeting his eyes. She stared at him for a moment before saying softly, "Yes, Harry, I'm alright."

Harry smiled hesitantly before quickly turning away, feeling a flush start to creep across his face. Ginny turned away with a confused smile on her face, wondering what that had been about.

**"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"**

**Malfoy let out a terrible scream and bolted-**

"The bloody coward!" Fred exclaimed.

"He just left him there, all on his own," said Bill crossly.

"Keep reading!" Molly cut across the chatter.

**so did Fang. The hooded figure raised its head and looked right at Harry- unicorn blood was dribbling down its front.**

McGonagall turned a faint shade of green.

**It got to its feet and came swiftly toward Harry- he couldn't move for fear.**

"Oooohhh," moaned Molly, shooting terrified looks at Harry. "Oh, Harry, move…"

Sirius was clenching the book so hard his knuckles were white. Seeing this, Harry spoke up. "I'm alright," he announced to the silent room. "I'm still here."

**Then a pain like he'd never felt before pierced his head; it was as though his scar were on fire.**

"Huh?" Remus asked, surprise cutting through the worry he had been feeling.

**Half blinded, he staggered backward. He heard hooves behind him, galloping, and something jumped clean over Harry, charging at the figure.**

"Centaur!" Tonks nearly shouted. "A centaur's come to help Harry!"

Molly sank back into her seat, looking exhausted. "Oh, thank Merlin," she sighed.

Sirius, however, wasn't going to relax until his godson was safe in the castle. Then, he could spare thoughts for his scar, which was perplexing. He still hadn't quite figured that out.

**The pain in Harry's head was so bad he fell to his knees.**

Fred winced.

**It took a minute or two to pass. When he looked up, the figure had gone. A centaur was standing over him, not Ronan or Bane; this one looked younger;**

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge a centaur had indeed come to Harry's aid.

**he had white-blond hair and a palomino body.**

**"Are you all right?" said the centaur, pulling Harry to his feet.**

"I'll have to thank him," Molly said thoughtfully.

"A centaur?" Arthur asked doubtfully. "Will you find him?"

"He saved Harry!" Molly said, as though pointing out the obvious.

Harry flushed slightly, but looked pleased.

**"Yes- thank you- what ****_was _****that?"**

"Please, tell us," Remus murmured.

**The centaur didn't answer. He had astonishingly blue eyes, like pale sapphires. He looked carefully at Harry, his eyes lingering on the scar that stood out, livid, on Harry's forehead.**

Harry pressed a hand to the aforementioned scar, an uneasy look crossing his face.

**"You are the Potter boy," he said. **

"Oh, really?" George asked curiously. "Strange, I hadn't noticed."

**"You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time- especially for you. Can you ride? It will be quicker this way."**

"No- bloody- way," Tonks whispered.

"You got to _ride _a _centaur?_" Charlie asked, eyes wide.

"They never let humans ride them!" Bill exclaimed.

Harry shrugged. "It needed to be done."

"Why do you get all the cool adventures?" George whined.

Harry shot him a look. "I wouldn't call 99% of my adventures 'fun'. More like 'terrifying'."

**"My name is Firenze," he added, as he lowered himself on to his front legs so that Harry could clamber onto his back.**

Charlie just shook his head in disbelief.

**There was suddenly a sound of more galloping from the other side of the clearing. Ronan and Bane came bursting through the trees, their flanks heaving and sweaty.**

"Uh-oh, Firenze is in trouble," said Hermione softly.

**"Firenze!" Bane thundered. "What are you doing? You have a human on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"**

"Dude, calm down," Fred said, blinking. "He just saved Harry's life and is getting him out of the killer forest. Why are you yelling at him?"

"Like I said before, centaurs are extraordinarily proud," Percy sighed.

**"Do you realize who this is?" said Firenze. "This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better."**

"I like him!" Sirius announced, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"Of course, he's getting Harry out of the forest," Remus said quietly.

**"What have you been telling him?" growled Bane. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. **

"What does that even mean?" Neville asked, eyes wide.

**Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"**

**Ronan pawed the ground nervously. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best," he said in his gloomy voice.**

"Thank you," said Ron, crossing his arms.

**Bane kicked his back legs in anger.**

"This guy has serious anger issues," George muttered.

**"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"**

"He's only a child!" Molly said, raising her voice.

**Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on.**

"Careful," Ginny warned.

**"Do you not see that unicorn?" Firenze bellowed at Bane. "Do you not understand why it was killed?**

"Why?" asked Bill anxiously.

**Or have the planets not let you in on that secret?**

"Oh, burn," Fred murmured.

**I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must."**

"You tell them, Firenze!" Tonks said, fist-pumping the air. Her hair turned a vibrant pink, and she grinned around at the room, looking rather pleased that Bane was getting told off.

**And Firenze whisked around; with Harry clutching on as best he could, they plunged of into the trees, leaving Ronan and Bane behind them.**

**Harry didn't have a clue what was going on.**

Fred and George burst into laughter. They doubled up, clutching their stomachs, while everyone stared blankly at them.

"So-rry," Fred choked out.

"It was just- just so serious," George wheezed. "And then- and then-"

"Harry just bursts in like, 'what's going on?'" Fred finished with a loud guffaw.

There was another moment of awkward silence before Sirius started reading again.

**"Why's Bane so angry?" he asked. "What was that thing you saved me from, anyway?"**

**Firenze slowed to a walk, warned Harry to keep his head bowed in case of low-hanging branches, but did not answer Harry's question.**

"No one ever answers my questions," Harry muttered irritably, glancing over at Dumbledore. The headmaster ignored him, looking intently at the book.

**They made their way through the trees in silence for so long that Harry thought Firenze didn't want to talk to him anymore. They were passing through a particularly dense patch of trees, however, when Firenze suddenly stopped.**

**"Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"**

Hermione opened her mouth, but Ron quickly covered it with his hand.

"Sorry, 'Mione," he apologized at her furious look. "But I'm pretty sure it explains in the book."

"You're right," said Sirius, skimming ahead.

Ron lowered his hand, and Hermione sat back in her seat with a humph.

**"No," said Harry, startled by the odd question. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in Potions."**

**"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn," said Firenze.**

"One of the worst things you can do," said Remus quietly.

**"Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."**

"Who would want that?" Fred asked, horrified by the very prospect.

"You'd be surprised," muttered Sirius darkly, ignoring the concerned looks he received from Remus, Tonks, and Harry.

**Harry stared at the back of Firenze's head, which was dappled silver in the moonlight.**

**"But who'd be that desperate?" he wondered aloud. "If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"**

"Definitely," agreed Charlie.

**"It is," Firenze agreed, "unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else- something that will bring you back to full strength and power- something that will mean you can never die.**

Remus' eyes widened. "The Sorcerer's Stone!" he blurted out.

"Huh?" Tonks asked, reflecting the general opinion of the room.

Remus waved at Sirius. "Just keep reading," he said tightly.

**Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"**

**"The Sorcerer's Stone!**

"The Elixir of Life," murmured Bill.

**Of course- the Elixir of Life! But I don't understand who-"**

Sirius stopped reading abruptly. He paled, slowly looking up at Harry, who was watching him grimly.

"No," he whispered.

Harry didn't respond.

"What?" Tonks asked, frowning. "Sirius, what is it?"

"Not in your First Year," Sirius said, shaking his head. "He can't- you're not ready-"

"Keep reading," said Harry softly.

**"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"**

"I don't like the sound of this," murmured Ginny.

**It was as though an iron fist had clenched suddenly around Harry's heart. Over the rustling of the trees, he seemed to hear once more what Hagrid had told him the night they had met: "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Don't know if he had enough human left in him to die."**

Remus gasped. "Oh, Merlin," he said weakly.

Charlie groaned. "Bloody fantastic," he muttered, putting his head in his hands.

**"Do you mean," Harry croaked, "that was ****_Vol-_****"**

"You-Know-Who?" Molly gasped. "In the forest? Dumbledore-"

"I did not know, Molly," Dumbledore said grimly. "Voldemort's ability to pass unseen is impeccable. And, at that point, it was widely believed he was dead. It would have been easy for him to bypass security and gain access to the forest."

"But you knew, sir," insisted Bill. "You knew he was still out there."

"I had… my suspicions," said Dumbledore slowly. "I wish, however, that I had been mistaken."

"He's eleven," Molly said quietly. "He shouldn't have to see these things."

"I know," said Arthur softly, laying a hand on her shoulder and squeezing.

**"Harry! Harry, are you all right?"**

"No, he's not bloody alright," growled Sirius.

"I'm fine, Sirius," Harry assured his godfather.

**Hermione was running toward them down the path, Hagrid puffing along behind her.**

"Oh, thank goodness," sighed Tonks.

**"I'm fine," said Harry, hardly knowing what he was saying. "The unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing back there."**

**"This is where I leave you," Firenze murmured as Hagrid hurried off to examine the unicorn. "You are safe now."**

Ginny gave a relived smile, reaching up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear.

**Harry slid off his back.**

"Still can't believe you rode a centaur," muttered Charlie.

**"Good luck, Harry Potter," said Firenze. "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."**

The smile dropped off of Ginny's face. "What does that mean?" she asked, looking around at the room.

Dumbledore didn't look at anyone, contenting himself with staring at the floor. Hermione eyed him suspiciously, but didn't say anything.

"I guess we'll have to learn, Gin," sighed Bill.

**He turned and cantered back into the depths of the forest, leaving Harry shivering behind them.**

"That was one detention," said George, grinning half-heartedly.

"I'd say they did their punishment, eh?" Fred asked.

**Ron had fallen asleep in the dark common room, waiting for them to return.**

Dumbledore smiled, glad that Harry had such loyal friends. He would need them in the years to come- more than he could ever know.

**He shouted something about Quidditch fouls when Harry roughly shook him awake.**

"And then there's Ron," Fred snorted.

"Shut up," muttered Ron.

**In a matter of seconds, though, he was wide-eyed as Harry began to tell him and Hermione what had happened in the forest. **

**Harry couldn't sit down. He paced up and down in front of the fire. He was still shaking.**

"I would be, too," said Neville, who still looked pretty scared.

**"Snape wants the stone for Voldemort… and Voldemort's waiting in the forest… and all this time we thought Snape just wanted to be rich…"**

"Stop saying the name," Ron hissed half-heartedly.

"Please don't tell me you're still convinced it's Snape," Remus sighed.

"It is," Sirius muttered.

**"Stop saying the name!" said Ron in a terrified whisper, as if he thought Voldemort could hear him.**

"Fear of the name-"

"-only increases fear of the thing itself, I know," Ron irritably finished for Hermione. "Thanks, I get it. Doesn't mean I like it, though."

**Harry wasn't listening.**

"As usual," said Ron and Hermione together.

"Hey!" Harry defended.

**"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so…**

"Don't talk like that!" Sirius protested.

Harry shrugged. "It was a fact," he said.

**Bane was so furious…**

"Yeah, well Bane's a bit of a git," Fred said, irritated.

**he was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen…**

"It would be a whole lot easier if we could just ask the planets," sighed George. "'Hey, Mr. Mars, why are you so bright?' 'Ah, no reason, George, I'm just trying out a new skin cream for my pores. It's nothing mythical or magical.' 'Oh, alright, thanks, Mr. Mars.' 'You're welcome George.' Now how easy would that be?"

"You're mental," said Ginny flatly.

**They must know that Voldemort's coming back… Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me…**

"And I repeat: Bane is a git!" Fred announced.

**I suppose that's written in the stars as well."**

"'Hey Mr. Star-"

"Shut up, George!"

**_"Will you stop saying the name!_****" hissed Ron.**

"Get over it, Ron," said Harry, rolling his eyes.

**"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone," Harry went on feverishly, "then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off… Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."**

"But I wouldn't," Ginny said, too quietly for anyone to hear.

**Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort.**

"Of course," Ron said, almost as quietly as Ginny.

Hermione picked up on it and looked over at Ron, startled by what she perceived as a compliment.

**"Harry, everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all snorted. "Completely," they agreed together.

**The sky had turned light before they stopped talking.**

"You should get some sleep," Molly reminded them.

**They went to bed exhausted, their throats sore. But the night's surprises weren't over.**

"What now?" groaned Tonks.

**When Harry pulled back his sheets, he found his invisibility cloak folded neatly underneath them.**

"Yes!" cheered the twins.

"Thank Merlin! I'd forgotten about that," said Sirius, perking up.

**There was a not pinned to it:**

**_Just in case._**

"That's the end of the chapter," Sirius announced. "And a rather nerve-wracking one it was. There's two more chapters left," he said, flicking through the chapters.

Harry glanced at the time. "I suggest we take a little break," he offered. "I know none of you will want to put the book down until the end."

"Good idea, Harry," said Arthur, standing and stretching his legs. "We'll all take some time to talk and grab something to eat. We'll meet back here in, say, fifteen minutes?"

"Sounds good," Tonks agreed with a grin, leaping to her feet.


End file.
